Jack the Spartan
by avidgokufan
Summary: UPDATE! Upon entering a new world, Jack and team are captured by descendants of the Spartans. Becoming a Spartan was not on Jack's "To Do" list. Unfortunately, he isn't given much of a choice. And no one makes new friends and enemies like Jack O'Neill.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The gate shut off with a whoosh and Jack looked around, holding his gun tightly as he scanned the horizon.

"Huh," he said. "What a surprise. There's no trees in sight. This is new." The surrounding expanse of planet P2R-987 seemed barren. Rocks and sand in every direction. Further off, the landscape took a greener tinge before it faded into mountains. However, there were no trees in sight.

Major Carter grinned slightly and scanned the area. "Air is clean, breathable, perfectly habitable, just like the MALP said."

Daniel scratched his head as he looked around. "The MALP showed no signs of anybody? Nothing at all? Not even any ruins?"

Teal'c nodded, "Indeed."

"Is P2R-987 a planet from the Abydos Cartouche or the Ancient Database?" Daniel asked.

"Abydos," Carter said without looking up from her readings.

"Ah. Well, then shouldn't there be someone here?" Daniel asked as Jack and Teal'c fanned out and scanned the area.

Jack looked back and gave him a look. "Why, Daniel? Could it be the scenic location? The beautiful view?" he asked in his most sarcastic tone gesturing at the lack of trees on either side of the gate. He hadn't been too excited about coming here in the first place. He had a bad feeling about this one. The gate was open and exposed. The mountains in the distance were not helping his nerves either. They seemed to loom ominously.

Daniel gave him a returning look and said, "Well, Jack, it's a perfectly livable planet. Most other perfectly livable planets have had descendants from Earth unless there is a perfectly unnatural natural disaster or something else that has eliminated the population. We haven't seen any signs of civilization so far, and the MALP saw no evidence of any life signs."

"Neither we nor the MALP have ventured far from the gate, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c pointed out.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Thank you, Teal'c."

"You are welcome, Daniel Jackson."

Jack smirked as he continued to scan their surroundings. A slight movement from behind a nearby rock caught his eye, and his hand flew up, causing the rest of his team to instantly be on alert. They stopped talking and began to search to find the cause of Jack's distress. Silent as a big cat, Teal'c moved to stand next to his friend.

"Have you seen something, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked quietly.

Jack nodded, and then spoke in a loud voice. "Come out to where we can see you. Slowly please. We come in peace or some such thing. Don't be scared."

As he spoke, four figures suddenly appeared in front of them. Jack and Teal'c managed to contain their surprise, but Carter jumped, and Daniel let out a little yelp.

"I'm thinking the planet is populated, Dr. Jackson," Jack said, and grinned at Daniel, but the utterly shocked look on the archeologist's face made him turn to look at the four men in front of him.

The men were carrying large metal shields, with a shape that looked like an upside-down "V" emblazoned on the front of them. The shields covered the whole torso from the neck to the tighs, and below, the legs gleamed with silver leggings. The four men stood perfectly aligned in front of SG-1, and spears, gleaming metallically, poked out from between the shields. Above the shields were four helmeted heads with plumes stuck out of the top. All Jack could see of the faces were the men's eyes peering through the eye-holes. Jack couldn't help but feel that the men looked familiar. At that moment, Daniel cried, "I don't believe it! They're Spartans!"

At the word, the men in front of them visibly reacted and began to babble in another language. Jack sighed and looked expectantly at Daniel.

"It's ancient Greek. They're asking us who we are and whether or not we are of the race of the serpent."

"The Goa'uld?" Jack asked in surprise.

Daniel shrugged and began to babble back at the men. However, the men looked at Daniel and then they began to talk in a very threatening tone.

Jack raised an eyebrow expectantly at Daniel. Daniel was looking a bit stung. "They just called me a 'helot' and said that I had no right to speak to them."

"Then who were they asking?" Carter asked.

Daniel shrugged. "Evidently not me. Helots were the slaves of the Spartans. Well, not actually slaves, but..."

"Save the lecture, Daniel," Jack interrupted, "this isn't the time." He looked at the rest of his team, shrugged, and took a step toward the four figures. "Hello, I am Colonel Jack O'Neill, US Air Force. We have come through your stargate as explorers. We didn't come to fight with you, unless of course, threatened. Then we'll be perfectly willing to kick your trash and send you packing."

"Jack!" Daniel exclaimed looking with trepidation toward the four Spartan warriors. However, instead of growing angry, the Spartans laughed.

They spoke again, and Daniel looked a bit confused. "What did they say, Daniel?" Sam asked.

"They said something about Jack being good potential Spartan material. I'm not really sure what they meant by that."

"Can you not communicate with them, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

"I'm afraid not, Teal'c. I don't think they're going to listen to a word I say."

"Can you tell them you're not a Helot?" Sam asked.

"I can try," Daniel said, and turned back to the Spartans. As he babbled to them, they seemed to tense up again. Then abruptly, one of them laughed. Surprised, Daniel stopped talking.

The one who laughed spoke to the other two and they all turned their gazes to Jack. One of them then addressed Daniel and spoke.

"Well?" Jack asked when he had finished. Daniel looked a little embarrassed. "They said they understand now." When Daniel hesitated, Sam prompted, "Understand what?"

"That I am Jack's slave and interpreter. They will allow me to speak to them on those premises."

Sam laughed and even Teal'c smiled a bit. Jack just gestured toward the warriors. "Well, then, Daniel, speak away."

Daniel began to speak quickly to the four warriors. They listened attentively as he explained the stargate and why they were there. He told them that they were enemies of the 'race of the serpent.'

As he spoke, Jack turned toward the others. "At least their not attacking. If they were, we might be in trouble. Spartans aren't someone we want to mess with."

Sam looked at him curiously. "What do you mean, sir?"

"Come on, Carter," he said, "haven't you seen the movie 300?"

"Actually, I haven't, sir."

"Nor have I, O'Neill," Teal'c interjected.

Jack turned back as the Spartans began to respond to Daniel. Daniel listened for a few minutes and then turned back to the rest of the team. "They welcome enemies of the race of the serpent. They have heard legends telling of the home world of their race. They say that a man from the race of the serpents came and captured many of their people, bringing them to this planet, but that their people rose up against the race of the serpent and killed him and his warriors."

"Way to be!" Jack crowed. Teal'c raised an eyebrow in his general direction, and Jack shrugged.

"They wonder about our strange group and why a warrior would bring a woman, a Helot, and warrior of the serpent with him."

Sam snorted, very unladylike.

Daniel continued, "Evidently they recognize Teal'c as a Jaffa.. I think they might have said something else, but the translation was a bit..."

"Daniel, Daniel," Jack interrupted, "enough. Ask them if they'll take us to the man in charge."

"Uh, Jack. I don't know if that's a good idea," Daniel said.

"Why not? They kicked the trash out of the Goa'uld on their planet. Why not invite them to help on other planets?'

"We should establish good relationships, Daniel," Sam said. "They might have formed new weapons or other means with which we can fight the Goa'uld in the centuries since they've been here."

Daniel sighed and turned back to the four warriors. But as he was about to speak, Jack grabbed his shoulder, his eyes staring out toward the mountains.

"Forget that," he said, "we've got to go."

"Why?" Daniel said. The four Spartans seemed relaxed and even pleased as they watched Jack scan their surroundings.

"Just apologize and let's go. We're being surrounded."

Daniel mumbled something to the Spartans, but Jack was already moving off. "Carter, dial the gate," he said. Sam ran forward to do just that. Jack kept his eyes carefully on the Spartans as they backed away. The Spartans weren't moving, just watching. Teal'c flanked him as Daniel ran toward Sam just as the wormhole whooshed open. Daniel quickly typed in the code for his GDO and waited.

Just as Jack was about to tell him to go, the seemingly empty landscape surged with darkly tanned figures. All the figures each only wore red robes and they seemed to be twenty and younger. That's all Jack noticed before they were on him. "Go, Carter, Daniel!" He yelled as he dodged a knife slash toward his face. His special-op's training kicked in at that moment and he lost himself in the flying fist and kicking legs.

He dodged a fist and caught it as he moved back swinging the fist's owner into another figure who was pivoting to kick him. Both boys were knocked off balance as Jack caught another foot flying toward his face. He dropped to a crouch and, still holding the foot up, knocked the other foot out from under the kid. He caught a glimpse of an angry face with a scar that ran along the boy's jaw before he had to move to block the next attack. He spun and planted his fist in another kid's face that was sneaking up on him as he blocked a blow from the side. He winced internally as his fist knocked a kid back who couldn't have been more than eight.

He felt a kick catch him on the side and his adrenaline which had already been coursing through his veins kicked into overdrive. He moved his head just in time to avoid another knife thrust. He managed to avoid all of the knife slashes, but several hits were getting past his defenses, and he was weakening. Daniel, he noticed out of the corner of his eye, was almost to the gate, but he was bleeding from several shallow knife cuts. Carter was doing pretty well, her military training keeping her even with most of the young men, but the superior numbers were wearing her down. Teal'c was, as always, holding his own. The men obviously saw Jack and Teal'c as the larger threat and Jack was forced to concentrate harder on his own battle as a knife caught him while he was distracted. He could feel the blood coursing down his arm, but the adrenaline kept him from feeling any pain.

He heard Daniel call out a warning and he turned around to see a kid spring toward him. He caught the lad's foot out of midair, twisted with the boy's momentum and swung him into another group of boys that was running toward him. All this time, the four original warriors sat and just watched critically. Jack could see this situation was hopeless. He couldn't stop blocking long enough to get his gun up, so he was forced to continue fighting on with hand to hand combat.

He saw Daniel go down. With a cry of rage he turned and bulldozed his way toward his downed friend, ignoring the enemies on either side and the hits he was receiving on the way. He hammered a kid out of his way and managed to reach Daniel's side. Standing over him, he turned around just in time to block a punch that might have knocked him out. Without looking he felt Teal'c come up behind him, guarding his back as they both stood over the unconscious archeologist. Sam managed to fight her way through to them and as she flanked them, there was a momentary lull in the battle. The boys stood around, stepping from foot to foot and pacing, like small wildcats. Their eyes gleamed with excitement and their bodies were tense, ready at a moment's notice to fly toward their prey.

They seemed so almost blaze as the sun caught the sweat the glistened on their young bodies. Then, like a river of fire they surged forward and the three figures went down under the overwhelming onslaught.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jack woke up with a splitting headache. Groaning, he grabbed his head and slowly tried to sit up. His vision was blurry, and blood from where a knife had been used to render him unconscious had coated from his hairline to his chin on the right side of his head. He fingered his shirt and realized his vest and equipment was gone.

"Carter?" he called.

There was no response, and he began to blink rapidly to clear his vision. He looked around and, with relief, found the other members of his team around him. They were all still unconscious, but Teal'c, even as he watched, stirred and sat up.

"O'Neill," the big man said.

"Glad to see you're alright, buddy."

"My symbiote is healing my wounds as we speak."

"Glad to hear it."

Jack looked around to take stock of their surroundings. They were in a prison cell, that appeared to be fairly modern. Jack was sure the item in the corner was the toilet seat and a sink, and the lights overhead appeared fairly advanced. Next to him on the floor was what looked similar to a first aid kit.

"You appear to also be wounded, O'Neill."

Jack touched his head briefly as he continued to digest his environment. "It's not too bad. Head wounds always look worse than they are. Left a bit of a bump though."

"You have several other wounds as well, O'Neill. Would it not be best to tend them?"

"Let's wait until Carter and Daniel wake up first. Then we can tend everyone's wounds."

"Indeed."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes until Sam began to stir. Jack made his way over to her.

"Carter," he spoke softly, careful to keep his hands away. Last time he'd tried that, she'd bitten a chunk out of his hand

She mumbled softly and then opened her eyes. With a startled, "Sir!" she sat up too quickly and weakly fell back against the wall she had been slumped against.

"Ooo," she said, putting a hand to her head, "did someone get the number of that truck?"

"This can't be a good thing, Jack," Daniel's voice came from the other wall.

"Daniel, glad to see you awake. Are you okay?" Jack asked as he examined an stab wound in Sam's shoulder.

"For now," Daniel's voice seemed to echo in the small room.

Jack shook his head and motioned for Teal'c to go see to Daniel's wounds. Teal'c nodded silently and rose from his position with cat-like grace.

Sam opened her eyes and started as they connected with Jack's face. "Uh, sir," perhaps we should clean you off a bit too."

"Bad?" he asked, putting his fingers to his face.

"You look like you planted your face in a blood bath."

Grinning, Jack finished tying up her bandages and went over toward what he'd assumed was a toilet and sink. It took him a few minutes, but he finally figured out how to turn on the sink and water flowed. Sticking his fingers under the faucet, he was pleasantly surprised to find warm water. He stuck his head under the sink and allowed the water to clean off his face and hair.

"Absolutely fascinating," he heard Daniel say behind him. "The Spartans have advanced to a technological point similar to ours. I wonder how this has affected their culture? They seem have much of the same traditions as the Spartans from our world, but with modern improvements. It is amazing the society could survive so long in an isolated environment..." Daniel's voice turned into a background noise as water ran into Jack's ear.

Jack wiped off his face with his shirt, as no other towels were available and looked up just in time to see the door open. He tensed, but then allowed his body to assume a relaxed position. He wanted whoever came in to be as off-balance as possible.

A man stepped in. Behind him came three other men. All four of the warriors were at least as tall as Jack and very wiry in build. Teal'c stood from where he had been tending Daniel's wounds and turned toward them. Daniel stood up as well, teetering slightly.

The man who had first stepped in turned toward Jack and began to speak in a loud commanding voice. Jack could tell he was a leader of some sort, and obviously used to being obeyed.

"Daniel?" Jack asked when the man had stopped. The large man waited patiently as Daniel began to speak.

"He said his name is Antioch, and he welcomes you to Sparta. He says they are very impressed with your, um, prowess, I think he said. He said, he is offering you the chance to become a Spartan by drinking the _akyrono_, uh 'reverse' or 'nullify,' _pithani diarkeia zois _I think means 'life expectancy' or something similar, and, uh _potizo,_ which is 'water.' Don't really know what he meant by that."

Jack looked a little surprised. "Why are they offering this to me. Teal'c is a much more impressive warrior."

"You underestimate yourself, O'Neill. You fight with great honor on the battlefield."

"No more than you, T. Ask them what they are planning on doing with the rest of you if I accept, which isn't going to happen."

Daniel began to speak to Antioch, but though he appeared to hear Daniel, he didn't turn to look at him. Instead he spoke directly to Jack again.

Daniel shook his head. "He said that you needn't worry about the lives of your slaves. He said that we would all be sent to live with the helots, as a Spartan needs no servants. We would be given a minor dose of _Potizo Pithani Diarkeia Zois Akyrono _as well"

"Excuse me," Jack said, speaking to the man in front of him. "They are not my slaves, they are my team. And I'm afraid that I'm going to have to refuse your offer. In fact, we would like to leave now, if you don't mind."

Daniel frowned at Jack, but dutifully repeated what he had said, albeit slightly more politely. Antioch laughed and then spoke something quietly to the men behind him.

"That didn't sound good," Sam commented, from where she was leaning against the wall.

"Uh oh," Daniel said.

Jack arched an eyebrow at him, "Uh oh, what?"

"I don't think they're giving us a choice, Jack."

No sooner had Daniel spoken, then the three men behind their interrogator lunged forward. One pinned Teal'c against the wall with his sword pointed straight toward Junior. The other two quickly had their short swords against Daniel and Sam's necks.

"Hey!" Jack yelled, only to have another three men slip into the small room. One carried a pitcher of red, thick fluid that didn't look the least bit appetizing.

Jack eyed his team that was pinned against the wall before turning his glare on Antioch. "No thank you," he said, "you can keep it."

Antioch may not have recognized the words, but he recognized the tone of voice and Jack's tense body language. Antioch smirked slightly and motioned for the men to move forward. Two of them grabbed Jack's arms and held them behind him as he growled and tried to fight back against them. The third man approached with the jug and Jack was reminded of a similar time not too long before. A flash of Apophis's face as he had watched Jack's pain flashed through Jack's mind and he struggled harder.

"Sir!" Sam yelled. Acknowledging the knife against her throat, she watched in frustrated rage as the Colonel was pinned against the wall.

"Jack!" Daniel yelled, unable to do anything. Teal'c started to move forward, but paused as the knife dug in deeper. His face, though it normally betrayed nothing, showed his distress. Antioch seemed pleased by their reactions as he walked toward Jack, taking the liquid from the other soldier. The third warrior passed it to him, smiled and grabbed Jack's head, tipping it back and plugging his nose. Jack tried to keep him mouth shut, but after a few minutes, the lack of oxygen forced him to open his breath for air.

As his mouth opened, liquid was instantly poured into it. He tried to spit it out, but a large hand was clamped over his jaw, and his nose was plugged. He was given the option of drowning or swallowing and self-preservation took over. His throat convulsively swallowed. His head was instantly released and he stood for a moment gasping for breath. However, before he could fully regain it, his head was seized again, and he realized with horror that they intended for him to drink all of the liquid in the pitcher.

His head was once again forced up, and though he tried to fight, he was forced to swallow again and again. After one pause, he had fallen limp and felt one of the warriors on his right arm relax his grip slightly. Instantly, he'd jerked his arm free and hammered it into the soldier's face. The soldier fell back, but the third one in front who'd been holding his head, instantly grabbed onto the free arm just as Jack's knee met his groin. The man's eyes had bulged and though he began to sweat, he didn't release his hold on Jack until the other man had returned and taken Jack's arm again.

As soon as the man's grip was once more secure, the man who Jack had kicked turned on him and buried his fist into Jack's gut. As the air was knocked out of him, the last of the juice was poured down his throat, and the men had released him to fall on the floor.

Jack attempted to regain his feet, his arm supporting his aching gut, and Antioch gave him a look of admiration as he and the other soldiers left the room.

Immediately, Sam and Daniel raced to his side. Teal'c stood between him and the retreating guards as the door slammed shut behind them.

"Are you okay, sir?" Sam asked, her eyes shining with concern.

Jack groaned softly, and managed to lean, swaying against the wall. Teal'c came up beside him and quietly supported him.

"What form of fluid, did they give O'Neill, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked, the concern in his voice plain.

"I don't have a clue, Teal'c," Daniel said, his forehead wrinkled with his own concern.

Jack relaxed a little, as the pain from his abdomen went away. "Whoo," he said. "At least I don't feel any different. My mind's not clouding up like it did when Apophis gave us the Juice of Sardine."

Sam smiled and Daniel rolled his eyes at the obvious mis-pronouncement of The Blood of Socar. It meant that Jack was feeling better.

"Well, it must do something, otherwise they wouldn't have made you drink it. Maybe it takes a while to take effect," Sam said.

"Thank you for that comforting thought," Jack said sarcastically.

"Well, at least we know they don't intend to kill you. Just...something else. And we know they plan to make us drink that same juice later."

"Well," Jack said, "we'll be ready for them next time."

"Indeed," agreed Teal'c.

"And now," Jack said, "I think I'm ready for a nap." He yawned loudly and slowly sank to the floor. "I'm suddenly feeling awfully tired."

"Well, you might have a concussion, sir. And I'm sure the blow to the stomach didn't help."

Daniel looked at Sam quizzically. "What does the stomach have to do with his head?"

"Well, you know," she said, "a man always thinks with his stomach." Daniel looked at her in shock and Teal'c arched his eyebrow.

Jack yawned and waved at hand in her general direction. "Nice one, Carter. T, why don't you stand watch. Everyone else should rest up for a minute too. You can keep watch while you kel'no'reem, can't you, T?"

"Indeed."

Jack dropped his head wearily. Though he may have felt exhausted, he noticed his knees weren't hurting the way they normally did. His back was feeling better as well. He was almost comfortable when he dropped off to sleep.

Sam sat down next to Daniel and they both looked over at the sleeping Colonel. "I sure hope he's okay," Daniel said.

Sam nodded. "Me too," she whispered, then the pain in her head quickly helped ease her back into the blackness of unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jack woke up a while later. He couldn't help feeling a long time had passed, and he was of a mind to have a word with his team about letting him sleep so long. However, as he went to sit up, he noticed something was definitely wrong. He sat up far to quickly and everything looked a lot bigger. As he sat up, his shirt felt ten sizes too big. It hung off his neck at an angle, exposing his shoulder.

"Oh, boy," he said, and his voice came out sounding very strange. He looked down at his hands. They seemed to have shrunk while he was sleeping. He looked over at the others. Teal'c was in a deep kel'no'reem. He looked a lot bigger than normal. Jack turned his head toward Sam and Daniel. Even Sam seemed huge. His mind reeling, Jack stood up, only to have his pants, boxers and all, fall off. He quickly grabbed them and pulled them back up, but, there was no way he was going to get them to stay up.

"What in the world is going on?"

At the sound of his voice speaking again, Teal'c opened his eyes and for the first time, Jack saw utter shock cross his features. He seemed speechless and just stared at Jack for a long time.

"Uh, T? Why are you looking at me like that?" Jack said, his voice sounding strange to his own ears. Much too high.

Sam stirred and blearily opened her eyes, accidently smacking her arm against Daniel as she stretched. With a yelp, he came awake. Sam was mid-stretch when she caught sight of Jack who stood in the middle of the room holding his pants up. She froze her mouth dropping open. Daniel mirrored her expression. Jack tried to take a look at himself, but other than the fact his pants were falling off, he seemed to be having a hard time concentrating.

"Yo, what's going on?" he asked getting irritated.

"Jack?" Daniel ventured, the first to recover his tongue.

"Daniel?" Jack answered. Everything felt strange. His pants started to slip again and he felt his face blush. Surprised at his own reaction, he grabbed his pants and pulled them higher.

"Come on, would someone answer me?"

"Sir?" Sam asked, starting to recover from her shock.

"O'Neill?"

"What's wrong?" As everyone continued to stare at him, he lost patience. "Would someone tell me, what in the world is going on here?" He was surprised at the sound of his voice again.

Teal'c, in his usual way, recovered first. "O'Neill. You appear to have regressed in age."

"As in...?"

"You look like you're seven," Daniel finally blurted out.

Ah. No wonder his pants didn't fit. Everything seemed to make logical sense at that moment, and then he lost his grip on his pants. They fell, leaving him desperately clutching his oversized boxers. His shirt covered everything anyway, but the whole situation was highly embarrassing. His face flaming, he yanked his pants back up.

Ah. This was awkward. "Carter," he said.

"Uh, yes, sir?"

"I need one of your bright ideas."

"Uh, sir, I don't know what to do about this. I didn't think this was even possible."

"That's not what I meant." He looked at her helplessly and said, plaintively, "Can you make my pants stay up?"

Daniel couldn't help it. A snicker burst from his lips and he clapped his hands over his mouth to stop himself, but it didn't work.

Sam couldn't help but join in. As her giggle joined Daniel's, even Teal'c cracked a smile. Jack stood in the middle of the room, feeling pathetic, and looked down at his pants. The shock and humor finally got to him and he grinned too.

After Daniel and Sam had stopped laughing Sam pulled off her own belt. "Here, sir. My belt is a bit smaller."

Jack gratefully took the belt and removed his own. He threaded it through his pants and was happy to find that they stayed up. However, they were far too long as well. "Anybody got a knife?"

They all shook their heads, and Jack sighed. "Well, this is awkward. Guess we know what the drink does now." He leaned over and started rolling up the pant legs so he could walk.

"Why on earth would they want to regress your age so far, sir?"

Jack turned and looked at Daniel, "Daniel?" he asked.

Daniel shook his head. "Spartans train their children starting at seven years of age. I guess in order to make you a Spartan, they decided to start you off at the same age too."

"But I can't even speak their language!" Jack whined. In his older version, the whining would have been humorous and normal, but now that he looked the part of a child, Sam couldn't help the snort that escaped her again.

"Well, this stinks."

The words had barely left his mouth when the door opened again. Teal'c sprang in between the approaching men and Jack. Daniel and Sam weren't far behind. At the present moment, they all felt how helpless the usually cocky man was.

However, Jack was having none of it. As Antioch entered the room, Jack came from behind Teal'c yelling, "What have you done to me?"

Antioch took in the small child in front of him. Even at seven, the stranger was well-built. His dark brown, tousled hair hung over large brown eyes that blazed with rage. The boy's black shirt hung over one shoulder, hanging nearly to his knees, and he'd rolled up the pant legs so his bare feet could be seen. Antioch could see the intelligence shining through the eyes and knew his leaders would be pleased with the child.

"Come," he beckoned the boy. Unfortunately, the child didn't yet understand him and his eyes turned burned a hole through Antioch. Antioch couldn't help the shiver that crept up his back. Even at seven, the stranger had a deadly look. Antioch nodded to himself in pleasure.

"Bring the boy. I'll send someone in later to take care of the helots."

The soldiers stepped forward, but the large snake warrior pulled the child back and stood defiantly in their way. Antioch was puzzled by this. The child was obviously not of the snake people, but this snake warrior defended him like he was. The other two also stood in the way, their expressions determined.

"We will not allow you to take him," the brown haired man with glasses said in heavily accented Greek.

Antioch finally let his eyes take in the three helots in front of him. They all stared defiantly and he could see the warriors that they were. However, they simply were too diverse to be part of the _Homoioi. _The snake warriors they had previously captured would never be the same because they carried their Gods in their guts. The woman was blonde. Antioch couldn't help the way his lip curled as he looked at her hair color. Obviously not Greek. The other man, the one with glasses, could almost have been incorporated, but his glasses gave away his weakness. He didn't move or act like a soldier either. Not the way their leader did.

"Get the child," Antioch said, losing patience with the three helots. The five guards he brought with him immediately raced toward the helots and after a few moments of fierce struggle, one of his men had the boy under his arm, and though the child struggled fiercely, managed to carry him from the room.

The man with glasses yelled, "Jack!"

Antioch nodded at his men, and they released the helots and backed out of the room, short swords pointed at the determined strangers.

The snake warrior was fuming. Antioch could feel the danger rolling off him in waves. He kept a wary eye on the man as they backed out of the room. As the door closed on the three strangers, the boy yelled insults and tried to kick the man who held him.

Antioch smiled in admiration. This one had a lot of spirit. It would be interesting to see if it would survive the _Agoge._ He had high hopes for this one, though many strangers turned out to be a disappointment. Somehow, though, he knew this one would make it.

As the sound of Jack's cursing disappeared, Sam turned to Teal'c. The great warrior was furious, his gaze fixed on the door where Colonel Jack O'Neill had disappeared.

"What's going to happen to him, Daniel?" Sam asked, her voice hitching as her worry came through.

"Most likely they'll make him join the military. In which case, he'll be lucky to survive."

"What is the meaning of this, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked, his eyes still blazing with fury.

"In Spartan society, at the age of seven, all boys begin in the military. They are forced to live outside in the wilderness until they are twenty, stealing and fighting to survive. Many of the boys died long before they reached twenty."

"Why didn't they take you and Teal'c too?"

"The Spartan society is based on the idea of everyone being the same. The group of males that survive the Agoge, which is the name of the training the boys undergo, become part of the homoioi. They are given the right to vote and have power.

"At this moment, though, even if they make us helots, Jack is in much more danger as a free citizen. All we have to do is make sure we don't stand out. Jack has to survive. But if anybody can do it, it's Jack."

Jack was carried from the prison upwards and brought into a large chamber. Two men sat on thrones in front of him, and on either side were older men past sixty. Antioch began to speak to the assembly, but Jack only caught a word or two here or there that sounded familiar. He wondered what they were saying about him. The men in front were dressed plainly, but if Jack didn't know better he would have said they were both kings.

Antioch spoke and gestured toward Jack whose arms were pinned to his side by the man standing behind him. Jack stood still, but tense, waiting for the right moment. His eyes scanned the men in front of him and he felt his heart sink. Not a single man in the room was not a warrior, no matter how old. He could see it in their eyes and in their posture. He groaned internally. This was not looking good for the home team.

Antioch glanced at the boy and saw the way his eyes scanned the room. He was gauging his opponents. Many of the other strangers had broken when faced with the _Potizo Pithani Diarkeia Zois Akyrono_. However, this boy stood straight and unafraid looking for a way out. His brown eyes gazed ferociously into Antioch's, and Antioch couldn't help the respect he felt. The boy was a natural leader as well. He had seen the way his servants protected him. No other they had captured had such devotion to their master. He decided to question the boy on it further once the boy had been taught to speak their language.

"As you can see, your Majesties and Ephors, the boy is strong, though he is not of our people. He is of the right complexion and fought valiantly against the children of the Agoge when he was captured. Might I suggest he immediately be taught to speak our language and placed in the Agoge."

The Ephors looked at the boy appraisingly. They too had noticed the way his eyes had scanned the room, the experienced way that he had viewed and noted the exits.

"Release your grip on the boy gradually, Tritan, and see what he does," Galiet called from the right. Tritan nodded slightly.

As the council kept talking about trivial things, Antioch knew that everyone had the corner of their eyes locked on the boy. He had also appeared to relax. He seemed to naturally know that councils were notoriously long-winded. As Tritan gradually relaxed, the boy seemed to relax even more. In fact, when he finally moved, he caught everyone by surprise. His foot snapped down on Tritan's instep, and in his surprise, Tritan actually released the boy. He was off like a flash, straight toward the least heavily guarded door. As the guard reacted to stop him, the boy flew forward and curled himself into a ball which the guard tripped over, toppling to the ground. Though the impact of the guard hitting him must have hurt, the boy was up and then dove and slid between the second guard's legs before he could react. He was off and out of the chamber while everyone stared in shock. Then the council began to grin and chuckle. Several of the guards were off after the boy, so no one was too worried about them catching him. However, Antioch felt that he should go after the boy.

"I'll be back," he addressed the Ephors and the two Kings and then ran out after the boy.

"Truly, the boy is lightning," he heard Galiet laugh.

"Antioch has chosen well," another council member remarked. Antioch couldn't help the grin that crossed his face as he left.

He heard the guards yelling to each other as they searched fruitlessly for the boy. However, Antioch already knew where he had gone. He headed back toward the prison where the boy's servants were kept. He flowed silently like a river and saw the back side of the boy just as he disappeared into the doorway. Antioch grinned. So predictable, yet admirable. To care for one's companions showed great potential.

He caught up silently with the boy just as he was turning the final corridor. The boy stilled, seeming to sense his presence, but when Antioch froze as well, the boy began to move again. Antioch closed silently with his prey and the boy spun just as he sprang. The boy fought silently, using tooth and nail, refusing to surrender, and Antioch began to smile widely even as he fought and subdued the child. Stuffing the struggling child under his arm, he walked back to the council chambers.

As he passed the guards, they fell in behind him, looking sheepish. Jack had stopped struggling, seeing that it was fruitless and glared sullenly at everyone they passed. Many of them looked at him admiringly.

Tritan looked a little embarrassed as Antioch handed the boy back to him and this time he kept the boy's arms in a grip of steel.

"Most impressive," Galiet said, "I vote we incorporate the boy immediately."

When the council voted, it was unanimous. Jack, who had understood none of the proceedings, was led away, not knowing what lay ahead of him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jack was taken outside. The structures around him were beautiful, but with his usual Jack attitude, he didn't even notice. He really wished that, like every other planet they'd ever been to, these guys spoke English. He had a lot of choice things he'd like to say to them. He walked willingly, waiting for them to relax their guard, but after the last incident, they were watching him like hawks. That Antioch guy especially.

Jack was brought into a small room and thrown in. Wheeling around, he wasn't quite fast enough and the door was locked behind him. Sighing, he began to explore the room. He had always been highly adaptable to any situation, but this one was freaking him out a bit. His reactions were fast, and the boundless energy that he had as an adult had multiplied when he reverted to childhood. He simply couldn't keep still.

The room however was fool-proof. Or even genius proof, though Carter might have figured a way out of it. Jack sighed again and began to pace back and forth like a caged cat.

It was amazing how short his stride was. He ran a bit, surprised at once by how slow and how fast he was at the same time. He began to do pushups and marveled at the way his knees bent and moved. Youth truly was a wonder.

The door opened while Jack was in the middle of sit-ups. He leapt to his feet and glowered at Antioch as he entered. Another warrior stood beside him. Antioch pointed to the warrior and said, "Straticus."

Then he pointed at Jack and lifted an eyebrow, reminding Jack of Teal'c. Jack merely glared and didn't answer.

Antioch's grin broadened and he spoke briefly to the other warrior and then left the two of them alone.

This warrior did not have the same look as Antioch did. He seemed to have a darker complexion and his eyes burned into Jack's. There was a cruel lift of his lip and he pointed to Jack and said, "Onomazo?"

Jack folded his arms and maintained his silence. He wasn't going to make it easy for the guy.

Straticus's eyes narrowed and his teeth showed as he sneered at the boy. The boy was already the talk of the Ephors, but Straticus couldn't see the appeal. He was pretty enough, but the stubborn lift of his jaw spoke of trouble to Straticus. He didn't have time to deal with the boy's attitude. He swiftly walked up to the boy and punched him across the jaw, sending him into the wall.

The boy sunk to the ground and unsteadily climbed to his feet, his eyes unfocused and blood running from his lip. He wavered slightly, and then assumed a rigid posture, glaring angrily at Straticus. Surprised Straticus glared back, then a cruel smile twisted his lips. They had only begun.

Teal'c, Sam, and Daniel listened for any sound, any sign of the Colonel's whereabouts. However, hours passed and there was no sign of anyone coming. Daniel's stomach growled loudly.

Teal'c looked at him and Daniel shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry."

Sam had started to pace. "Can't we do anything?"

"I'm open to suggestions," Daniel said, spreading his hands helplessly. At that moment, the door began to open. Teal'c turned, his entire powerful frame tense and prepared to leap. However, as soon as the door opened, a zat gun popped around and a bolt hit Teal'c, knocking him unconscious. Daniel leapt forward, and got zatted as well for his troubles. Sam held still, but she too was zatted into oblivion.

When she woke up, she felt strange. She looked down and saw that her hands looked smaller than normal. Her mind instantly made the connection, and she though, "Oh, great."

"Sam?"

A boy's voice broke her though and she looked over to see a small brown-haired boy with large glasses that were hanging off his face.

"Daniel?" she said.

Daniel's face broke into a grin. "Hey, Sam! Did you know you are a cute kid!"

"So are you, Daniel. Where's Teal'c?"

"Dunno. Haven't seen him."

Sam looked down at her clothes. Someone had dressed them both in tunics and sandals.

"Do you need the glasses to see now, Daniel?"

Daniel shrugged. "I think I have had glasses since I was four. I don't know."

Sam giggled, then clapped her hands over her mouth as the girlish giggle spilled out. "Wow," she breathed, "that sounded weird."

Daniel nodded. "Yes, it did."

She grinned and smacked him. "So, how are we going to get out of this one?"

Daniel shrugged. "Don't know. I do know that General Hammond should be sending a message through soon though."

"Yes, but we don't have our radios."

"We should warn him not to send anyone."

"How?" the word hung in the air and silence filled the small room. Then the door opened and Teal'c was thrown in.

"Teal'c?" Daniel said.

The Jaffa looked the same. He hadn't reverted to childhood. Daniel felt a small sense of triumph. At least there was a little hope.

The man came in directly following Teal'c. In Greek he said, "You are to be transferred out to the nearest Helot settlement. They will explain your way of life. Do not attempt to make contact with your previous master or you will be killed. Now follow me."

"What about him?" Daniel asked, pointing at Teal'c.

"He will be transferred to the Snake warrior settlement. They will keep him in line. Now come!"

"Come on, Sam. We've got to follow this guy."

"But we can't leave Teal'c!" Sam protested.

"Sam, they won't think twice about killing us. Helots aren't human to them. They are at constant war. Don't provoke them. Teal'c will be fine. We'll find him later. We're kids, Sam, we can't do anything for now."

Sam nodded reluctantly and patted Teal'c on the shoulder. "We'll see you later, big guy."

Then she and Daniel followed the man into their new life.

Jack shakily stood once again. His right eye was swollen shut and his mouth was full of blood. He spit it at Straticus's feet and glared with his one good eye. He knew he was simply being obstinate, but in this battle of wills he simply couldn't let the older man win. The man was losing his temper, Jack could tell. If he did, it was possible he would make a mistake, then Jack could strike. He found that though the punches hurt more in his small body, he was able to handle it. His brain still had the experiences his body no longer bore witness to. He remembered Iraq, his four months in the stinking prison, and he knew could handle being a punching bag.

Straticus felt his anger rising to the surface as the boy once again got to his feet. The boy spit and fastened his gaze on Straticus. Straticus could see the unbendable strength in the boy's gaze, and part of him withdrew in fear. Which only served to really tick off the rest of him. In that moment, he snapped like a wounded grizzly. As his fists descended on the boy, he could hear someone yelling his name vaguely through the red haze that coated his vision. Then he felt strong arms pulling him off. "Straticus, get a hold of yourself," Antioch roared in his ear, and finally, Straticus did so. Only to see the boy once again rise to his feet and fix his defiant gaze on Straticus. He nearly lost it again, would have, if Antioch hadn't pushed him back.

"I'm going to kill him!" Straticus roared.

"For what?" Antioch's voice cut through his rage like a spear.

Straticus paused and couldn't answer. He watched the boy as he drew neared and his piercing brown eyes fastened onto Straticus and in slow even tones he spoke for the first time during the whole session.

Straticus didn't know what he said, but something about the boy's tone told him all he needed to know. There was an ample amount of contempt, and Straticus felt his temper rising again, but with an effort he pulled it back down.

However, Antioch was looking at the boy with new understanding. "We're not going to make progress teaching him to speak this way," Antioch mumbled. "He won't learn just to defy us. Get another boy. Pull him out of the Agoge and bring him in here. He can teach this obstinate one."

Straticus shook his head. "He's just dumb. He'll never learn. If I'm not able to beat him into it, no one can. He'll probably just end up killing whatever boy you bring into here."

Antioch shook his head and smiled at the boy who glared defiantly at both of them. "Some animals you have to train with kindness before you can beat them into shape."

The boy may not have understood the words, but he suddenly seemed a little less sure of himself as the two men walked out of his room.

A few hours later, they returned. The boy they brought with them didn't look especially strong, and there was a certain wariness to his gaze like a coyote caught in a trap.

Jack didn't even look at the boy, he simply crouched watching Straticus. At any movement from the larger man, he was ready to leap toward him. However, Antioch kept himself between the two and spoke briefly to the boy he had brought with him. The boy nodded and eyed the bloody stranger suspiciously. Antioch left a red robe on the table, and then the two adults nodded and left, leaving the two boys alone.

Jack relaxed slightly and peered at the newcomer through his eye that wasn't swollen. The boy motioned to himself and said, "Tauraus."

Jack gazed at him suspiciously, and decided there was something in the other boy's gaze that he liked. He straightened up and pointed to himself, "Jack."

Tauraus's brown eyes looked into his and he smiled. Then he pointed to a chair. "Karekla," he pronounced slowly and softly. Then Jack understood. This was to be his tutor. Figuring it was better to be able to understand his captors, he accepted his task and became a willing pupil.

"Karekla," he repeated. Tauraus looked at him, surprised. Jack wondered what exactly he'd done. All he'd said was the same word the other boy had said.

Tauraus was impressed. The stranger named Jack had gotten the pronunciation right the first time. All of the other strangers he had heard speak the mother tongue had stumbled, but this Jack seemed to have a gift. Tauraus smiled and pointed to the next item in the room.

"Trapezi."

Daniel and Sam were walked to a small hut. Their tiny legs, which were no longer built for long walking, ached as the tiredly continued to follow their armored guide. The Spartan had never once looked back at them to see if they were keeping up, but when Daniel had stupidly decided to make a break for it, the man's spear had thudded into the ground an inch from his foot. After that, he followed along meekly enough.

The hut was modern enough, if small and sparse. The old woman who stood cooking at the stove, jumped back as the soldier kicked the door open. She turned her eyes away and stood quietly until the soldier spoke to her then she fixed her gaze on his feet. He pointed to the two children and the woman nodded. Then the soldier left.

"Hello," Daniel said, his small voice seeming loud in the sudden silence. The woman looked at him in pity.

"Welcome, strangers. How old were you when you were captured?"

Daniel shook his head and said, "We were adults."

The woman nodded. She looked at Sam who was scanning her surroundings. "Is she mute?" she asked.

Daniel laughed, "No, she just doesn't speak the language. I'll teach it to her if we end up staying long."

The woman looked at him sadly and said, "Then you'd better begin. It is most definitely going to be a long stay."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Jack and Tauraus sat together, talking animatedly. Jack, to Tauraus's amazement had picked up the language quickly, and now, only a week after Jack had come, they were able to carry on quite a bit of conversation. It helped that many of the English words were similar to Greek words. He still had much to learn, but he knew enough to be understandable. Jack now wore a red robe instead of his other, much too large clothes. It was warm, and the cloth was fairly comfortable and new. Tauraus had showed him how to wrap it securely and modestly. Jack appreciated the advice.

"Have you heard of anyone recently coming through the _asteri pyli_?" Jack asked his new friend. Jack had always liked kids, and now, even though he technically was one himself, he still felt like an adult playing with a kid.

"The star gate?" the boy asked wonderingly. "Never heard of it. What does it look like?"

"Big, round, stone thing. Water shoots out, you know." Jack said.

"Ah. The Chappa'ai is what the snake people called it."

"Right," Jack said, rolling his eyes. With nothing better to do, his whole mind had been on learning the language, all of his boundless energy focused on one thing. It had made the learning easy. Plus, he once again had the pliability of a seven year old's brain.

Tauraus shrugged. "Don't know. I've never been near it." Then he looked at Jack in kind of a sideways nervous manner and seemed to decide something.

"Jack," Tauraus said, "what did you do to make Straticus so angry on the first day I came? I've never seen him so mad. I've been meaning to ask, but..." the boy trailed off, unwilling to admit he'd been nervous.

Jack shrugged and smirked. "He was angry because I am so much better looking than him."

"Really?"

Jack was often shocked at the gullibility of the boy beside him. He smiled apologetically, "Sorry, no. I'm used to people understanding my sarcasm. Don't worry about it."

The boy nodded, not seeming to understand. Jack grinned broader. 

He heard footsteps approaching the door, and instantly Jack the soldier appeared. The grin slid off his face and he flowed to his feet, crouching defensively. The dangerous look in Jack's eyes caused Tauraus to back away in fear. He hadn't seen his new friend look like that since the first day he came and the wild boy had been standing in that same crouch, beaten but not broken. This was the first time they had been bothered in over a week. Food had been passed through a slot in the door, but other than that, they had seen no other living thing.

The door opened and Antioch stepped in to find the strange boy in the same position he'd been in when Antioch had left the week before. Antioch felt a little disappointed. It appeared that no progress had been made. Tauraus was even standing like he was scared of the other boy. It appeared that Antioch's instinct had been incorrect. However, when Tauraus saw it was Antioch, he brightened a bit.

"Jack," he said to the strange boy, "this is Antioch. He is strong and gracious leader among our people."

Jack snorted, and Antioch realized with shock that Tauraus expected 'Jack' to understand and it seemed that Jack had.

"Welcome, Jack," Antioch said, "I am pleased to see you have made progress, Tauraus."

Tauraus bowed. "I was given a most apt pupil, Master Antioch."

Antioch looked with surprise at Jack. He'd expected a lot more trouble getting the boy to learn their language, but here it seemed as though the boy had been perfectly willing. He couldn't _imagine_ this boy being willing about anything. Finally though, the boy relaxed and asked the first question on his mind, "Where are my friends?"

Antioch was amazed at the way the mother tongue flowed out of the boy's mouth as though he had been born speaking it. "Your friends?" Antioch asked to recover from his surprise.

"Yeah, the three that came with me. My friends."

"Friends?" Antioch repeated, then he turned to Tauraus, "Did you not teach him the word for servant yet?"

At this, Jack grew angry, "They are not my servants, they are my TEAM." He enunciated the word slowly and distinctly. "They are my friends," he repeated.

"They are no longer important," Antioch stated casually. He was pleased though. The boy had lost none of his fire, but his instincts about the boy's softer side had been correct. It seemed he had treated the boy Tauraus in a kind manner and learned much from him.

Tauraus came to stand beside Jack, "He is ready for the Agoge, Master."

"The what?" Jack asked. When Tauraus didn't answer immediately, Jack turned back to Antioch. "Has anyone else come through the Chappa'ai?"

Antioch looked at the boy and realized it was going to take a while for thoughts of home to leave his head. The best way to get rid of spare thoughts was to busy the hands and the mind. "I think you are right, Tauraus," he said, "it's time to introduce him to the rest."

Tauraus grinned and clapped Jack on the shoulder, which Jack, to Antioch's surprise, permitted.

"Come, Jack," Antioch said, and motioned for the boy to walk in front of him. However, as Jack reached the door, Antioch brought his hand firmly on the boy's shoulder. "Don't even think about it. Any escape attempts after this will be severely punished, and I know several already who are lining up to administer your first punishments. Don't try anything." Still not trusting him enough to be overconfident, he kept his hand firmly on Jack's shoulder as they walked out of the village. 

"This is bothersome," Antioch said, and as they were walking he reached over and snagged a loose rope that was hanging on a fence. 

Jack caught sight of it, and quickly tried to move away. "What are you planning on doing with that?" Jack said, eying the rope suspiciously. Before Jack could move, Antioch had grabbed him by his hair, looped the rope around his neck, and knotted it securely. 

"Hey!" Jack yelled, waving his arms.

Antioch hid a smile and shoved him forward. "Keep walking."

Jack glowered at him, but surprisingly, did as he said.

They walked the rest of the day, and Antioch was pleased to see both Tauraus and Jack keeping up with him. If either boy was tired, he wasn't showing it. They reached the main camp of the Agoge around dusk. 

Jack was surprised to see a large group of boys from all different ages. Most had a hungry, lean look. The youngest ones crept around, wide-eyed and wary, like wild beasts. The older stalked around like they owned the place. Jack was a little disappointed to find that he was one of the 'youngest' there. "Great," he thought. 

As they approached heads began to lift to scan the newcomers. All of the boys wore only a single red cloth like the one Jack now wore. Depending on the boy, they all wore it differently, but securely. The state of the boys was shocking. Many were bleeding, but they didn't seem to notice as their eyes followed the newcomers. Jack didn't see any other boys his age. They all looked to be twelve and older.

Some of the boys hollered and catcalled as they saw the rope around Jack's neck as he was led like a dog into the camp. However, he refused to let them bother him and stared straight back at any who dared to meet his eye. A surprising number of them shut up and avoided his gaze after that. 

A man came trotting out of one of the tents. "Ah hah," he said as he caught sight of Antioch, "the much talked about child. Come, come." He looked at Tauraus and snarled, "Go find Tinelius. He will take you back to the barracks." Tauraus scampered like a little rabbit and ran into crowd of boys. Jack quickly lost sight of him. 

As he looked around at all the other kids, Jack smirked. He couldn't help it. The kids all tried to look so tough, but most only managed to look pathetic. However, as two larger boys began to fight viciously on the edge of his vision, he realized he couldn't underestimate these boys. The other boys crowded around, cheering and goading them on, and neither one of the adults stepped in. They simply watched with approval. Jack couldn't understand why they weren't stopping them. He watched as one of the boys latched onto the other boy's ear with his teeth and ripped. The boy screamed and then buried his own teeth in the other boy's neck. After a few minutes, they finally backed off, blood streaming from their bodies, matching the red of their garment. 

The two adults chuckled and pulled Jack inside the tent. Jack felt a little shell-shocked.

Antioch pointed to Jack and said, "I guarantee this one will try to escape by the end of the week. It would be most unwise to let him do so. A lot of assembly members would be very upset. I suggest you post one of the older boys to watch him."

The other man nodded and took the rope from Antioch. Antioch nodded and then placing a hand on Jack's shoulder in a friendly manner said, "I will see you soon, Jack."

Then he left. 

Jack was left with this new person, who was a grey-streaked man with a scar that went all along his hair-line. Jack instantly knew he didn't like him. "I've heard a lot about you, Jack," the man said with what Jack assumed was supposed to be a friendly smile. Jack glared at him instead, but this only seemed to make the man happier.

"My name is Glitsa, and currently I'm in charge. You'll follow my orders and live with the other boys." Glitsa stuck his head out the door, "Oiy, Reiki," he yelled, "get in here!"

A boy with shifty eyes, who looked to be about twelve, burst in the tent a few minutes later and saluted sharply, pressing his fist against his chest. "Sir?" he said.

"Reiki," Glitsa said, "you are in charge of this boy. He is to join your 'Herd' for the rest of the week and then he will be assigned to a group his own age. If he escapes you will be severely punished for it. Do you understand?"

Reiki nodded and smiled maliciously at Jack. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen. May I keep the rope?"

Glitsa nodded. "For now. However, do your best to make sure he doesn't die at first. The Assembly is interested in this one."

If anything Reiki's malicious expression deepened, but he nodded. Glitsa handed him the rope and Reiki jerked on it happily. "Come on, _skylos._"

Jack looked at him questioningly. He didn't recognize that word. He'd have to ask Tauraus about it later. However, he knew the boy was making fun of him because of the rope. He decided to ignore it for the moment. 

He followed the other boy out of the tent, and like a pack of wild dogs the other boys circled around Jack. Reiki was obviously at the top of the pack, though he was only twelve, and Jack knew he would be starting at the bottom, but if there was anything prison in Iraq had taught him, it was that you don't show any weakness. He glared his death glare at anyone who came too close. 

Surprisingly, it still seemed to be fairly effective. No one came nearer, and many after a preliminary jeer, lost their smirks and trotted off muttering. Soon, only five boys remained who all looked to be about 12. Reiki smirked at Jack.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked Jack. Jack glowered at him and decided he might as well answer.

So, Jack straightened to his military posture, looked the older boy straight in the eye and said, "My name is Colonel Jack O'Neill, United States Air Force. You?"

Reiki seemed a little baffled by the reply. Thrown off, he instinctively straightened without realizing it, responding to Jack's tone, and replied, "I'm Reiki. This is my Herd. There's Themo, Nueia, Hitsa, Stilta, and Delki. Since you'll be with us the rest of the week, we'll show you the way things work and what you're supposed to do. However, we're older, so you'll actually be doing different things when you get put into your own group back in the barracks, but we'll teach you what we know."

Jack considered his options. His brain was busy going over every tactical angle at this point. And as much as he tried, he just couldn't dislike any child, and his brain informed him that without proper intel, he wouldn't be able to escape and take his team with him. Plus, if he did escape while under Reiki's care, it sounded like Reiki would be hurt. It would be in his best interest to cooperate with these 'kids' and let them show him around. Then, later, after he knew his way around, he could leave at his convenience. 

This settled, he decided to be fully cooperative. Looking at Reiki, he said, "Okey-dokey."

Reiki seemed surprised. He wasn't sure what that meant, but it sounded perfectly willing. Judging by what he'd heard and the rope around the kid's neck, he thought he'd have a little hellion on his hands. However, the boy seemed strangely cooperative. Reiki quickly reassessed him. There was something about the boy, something that even Reiki, who was notorious for not 'playing well with others' couldn't help but like. There was also something about the kid that kind of frightened him at times. It was almost as though he carried something dark that hovered under his skin and threatened those he didn't like. Reiki had seen a bit of it earlier, when the boy had stared down those around him who were trying to pick on him. The other boys had been intimidated despite themselves, and had quickly backed off. Reiki was curious and very interested. He admitted silently that he could see why the Ephors were so intrigued with the boy. 

The boy seemed to be waiting for Reiki to begin, and so Reiki said, "Very well. We'll start off with sleeping. There's no beds, no blankets, or anything else even slightly comfortable, and the nights get very cold. I'm going to tell you a trick. If you gather up some of the prickly plants around here and sleep on them, they will at least make you feel warmer. You may not be comfortable, but use your robe as best you can. Unfortunately, I don't trust you not to escape yet, so we're going to take turns watching you, and I'm going to tie you to a tree. If that's understood, I think we'll begin your education tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," Jack said, and out of habit, saluted sharply. Reiki was surprised by the gesture, and muttered something before handing Jack's rope to one of the other boys. Jack's stomach rumbled at that moment and the boy who was holding his rope laughed. "Better get used to that."

"Wait a minute! Don't they feed us?" Jack asked, feeling a little shocked at the idea of starving kids. 

"They feed us enough to nourish us, but never enough to satisfy. Those who really flourish out here become excellent thieves, but if you get caught, forget it. Er, what'd you say your name was again, kid?"

"Just call me Jack," said Jack, smirking internally at the thought of a twelve-year-old calling him kid."

"And I'm Delki. See it works like this, Jack. They feed us once a day, one bowl of blood soup. That's all we get. In order to satisfy yourself, you have to steal, but never EVER get caught. The punishment is most severe. But if you don't steal, you are considered a wimp by everyone. Neither is a nice alternative, so the solution is: steal, but don't get caught." Delki grinned at Jack, and Jack couldn't help but like the kid. He had dark brown hair, nearly black and friendly brown eyes. He didn't look like the most intelligent kid, but like all the others, he was well-muscled, not like a bulky wrestler, but like a gymnast. There was something very graceful about the way all of the kids moved, even the ones in the awkward teenage stage. 

Delki led Jack over to a tree and expertly knotted the rope around it. Then he settled against the tree and fixed his eyes on Jack. Despite himself, Jack yawned. Though he may have been over fifty in his head, his body was now that of a small boy that had traveled far and was very tired. Curling up and ignoring the cold, his black ops training came through even in this foreign environment, and he quickly settled into a deep sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Well, at this point, I probably should say a few things that should have already been said. First of all, I don't own Stargate or any of its trademark characters. I am borrowing them for a short time and will eventually replace them, nearly as good as new.

Also, I want to thank all of those who have been reading and reviewing. I appreciate the support and hope you continue to enjoy each new chapter.

A third point I would like to make quickly is this is 'somewhat' historical fiction. I am taking the Spartan culture and restoring it as accurately as possible. Of course, since there is a lot of controversy about how it actually was originally, not everyone will agree with my interpretation of it. Just know, that I tried to the best of my ability to research and portray the culture accurately. Also, I will be instigating some changes that I feel I am entitled to, especially since theoretically the Spartan culture would have evolved and changed somewhat over the centuries since the Spartans had been separated from earth. It is an alien planet after all, I'm entitled to creativity.

Now, before I bore you to death with things that don't really matter in the long run...here's Chapter 6:

Chapter 6

The next morning, Jack was roughly shoved out of his sleep by a blow that knocked him rolling. Coming quickly awake, he rolled to his feet and assumed a defensive position, his mind frantically trying to remember what was going on. Delki was smiling at him in a friendly manner, his foot still raised from the kick that had woken Jack. However, at Jack's expression, his smile faltered nervously. Delki quickly cleared his throat and said, his smile once more returning, "Wake up, _skylos._ It's time for classes."

Jack blearily shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. The kid seemed to think he had gently woken Jack up. Jack sighed and rubbed his arms which were a bit numb from the cold.

"Well, _skylos_, you sure slept well. Even Themo commented on it. Most of the newbies can't sleep well for a while when they first come here. The cold gets to them. Well, come on," he said, tugging at the rope on Jack's neck like he would a dog, "let's go."

Jack rolled his eyes, but followed the happy boy. As he walked through the camp, he once again assumed his aggressive position. The boys that walked past were looking for any signs of weakness and a couple tried to trip him. The first time, Jack just dodged it. However, the second time a boy stuck out his foot, Jack dropped to his hands and swept his legs under the boy, knocking the boy's other leg out from under him. The boy dropped to the ground with a grunt, and Jack smoothly rose to his feet. He wouldn't normally be so rough with children, but Jack could tell that some of these children would be worse than his fellow inmates in the Iraqi prison if he gave them half a chance. As much as he loved children, he knew that they could be very cruel. And technically, he too was a child.

The other boys laughed as the one he knocked down scrambled to his feet. The boy looked to be about thirteen, and his face was turning bright red from rage. He had a scar across his nose that blazed scarlet. He walked over to Jack and glared down at him. Jack noticed that the boy was at least two feet taller. It gave Jack a very strange feeling.

"You little _skylos_," the boy growled in a very dangerous tone. Jack was getting irritated with that word. He really wished he knew what it meant so that he could know how offended he was supposed to be getting.

So, Jack, spread his arms disarmingly and said, with a cheerful mock-the-bad-guys sort of smile, "You'll have to forgive me. I'm unsure as to what a skylos is. I'm afraid that in order for me to take offense from your previous comment, you'll have to define the word first."

The boy only seemed to become more enraged. With a roar, he charged at Jack, and the other boys stepped away. Delki also backed away, dropping the rope. He looked a little frightened.

Jack dropped into a crouch, and as the boy swept his arms forward to seize Jack, he rolled under the older boy's grasp and came up behind him, nailing him in the back with a kick. The boy stumbled forward and fell on his face, thrown off by the empty space in front of him and the extra push from behind. The boy flew to his feet with a roar and rushed at Jack with murder in his eyes.

As the boy reached for Jack again, Jack grabbed his wrist and using the boy's own inertia, threw him over his much smaller shoulder. The boy once again landed on his face in the dirt. The murmur from the crowd was growing louder, and some laughter was once again breaking out. The older boy once again sprang to his feet and completely lost all control. With a scream of primal rage he rushed at Jack again. Jack rolled his eyes, and then dropped to the ground as the boy approached and rolled into the boy's running legs. The boy flew forward and once again, found his face in the dirt. He didn't move for a long moment as Jack once again flowed to his feet. Jack breathed easily, though the impact of the older boy's legs against his side had been painful. After a long moment, the older boy slowly got to his feet and turned, his expression calmer. Jack knew it was about to get dangerous. Once the mindless rage dissipated, the boy's height and weight would become a disadvantageous to Jack. Jack, though used to fighting larger opponents, was not yet completely comfortable with being so much smaller.

The boy slowly walked up and Jack dropped into a defensive crouch, his own eyes locked onto the other boy as he approached. Jack was an expert at reading his opponents, and very adept at hiding his own movements. However, as the boy approached, he stopped a few feet in front of Jack and with a voice strangled with rage simply said, "My name is Erpeto. And you, little skylos, had better watch your back." With that, the boy turned and walked away. A little baffled at the abrupt ending, Jack relaxed slightly and then turned to look at Delki. Delki's face was a sight to behold. A mixture of wonder, awe, fear, and pride had filled his features. A broad smile lit up his face as he once again picked up Jack's rope. "Come on, _Tigris_. Let's go to class."

Jack followed the older boy and the amazed murmurs that surrounded them were left behind as the crowd of boys parted to let them through. He heard the word tigris being said more than once, and realized with a bit humor that they were now calling him tiger. He supposed that was better than skylos, whatever that was.

"Oiy, Delki," he said. The boy instantly turned and looked at him as they continued walking.

"What is it, little tigris?"

"What is a skylos?"

"It is an animal that walks on all four, has a long wagging tail, and makes a noise like this." With that, Delki did an impressive impersonation of a dog bark.

"Wait a minute, you've been calling me a dog?" Jack said. He thought about that for a moment, and then shrugged. He'd been called worse, and he LIKED dogs.

"A dog?" the other boy repeated, his brow furrowing.

"Nevermind," Jack said, "I understand the word."

"But no more!" Delki quickly interjected. "From now on, you are the little Tigris. You are far more worthy of that name than the name of skylos. Though it was perhaps unwise to challenge Erpeto. Like his namesake, he lies in wait to strangle his victims."

"So," Jack said, his mind filling in the blanks, "Erpeto is a snake. Sweet."

At that moment, they reached Reiki and the other four boys. They were sitting Indian-style on a patch of bare ground in a circle. Reiki looked at Delki impatiently. "Where have you and the little skylos been, Delki?" Reiki said impatiently. "Dendron will be here any moment."

"A skylos he is not, Reiki. He just tackled Erpeto and won."

At these words all five of the other boys rose to their feet. "He _what!?_" Reiki said, his voice a little shrill.

Delki than proceeded to retell the fight between Jack and Erpeto. Jack missed some of the words, but he recognized enough to realize that Delki was embellishing it a bit. He pressed the heel of his palm against his temple and smirked, ducking his head. _Kids,_ he thought.

When Delki had finished, Reiki and the other boys in Herd were looking at Jack with newfound respect. "A Tigris indeed," Reiki murmured.

At that moment a taller man walked up to them. He appeared to be about 20 or so and looked extremely athletic. His eyes were a much lighter color of brown, so much so that they were almost golden, and his hair was a lighter shade of brown as well. He smiled at the boys and said, "Good morning." He looked a little harder at Jack and remarked, "So, you are to join my pupils for the week?"

Jack shrugged. As much as he was beginning to like some of the children here, most of the adults still caused the fury inside of him to swell.

The man seemed to be confused by his shrug, but he continued on anyway. "My name is Dendron. I am the teacher they have voted to teach them. I'll explain our ways a little for you so you can understand.

"Generally, at age seven, the boys are divided into groups of about 60 boys and placed in the barracks. You will be put into one of these groups. You will be trained athletically, and taught to read and write. When you reach the age of 12, you will be removed from the barracks and placed in the mountains, where we are now and you will be tested as to your ability to survive. Normally, seven year olds are not expected to endure this. However, the Ephors wanted to see how you would handle the conditions that the 1st year boys, or 12 year olds, are forced to endure. You will be placed with your own age group inside the barracks after this week. Do you understand?"

"Sheesh," Jack said, "you sure are tough on your kids. Child Services would be all over you people."

"What do you mean?" Dendron asked looking confused. "Who are these 'Child Services?'"

Jack sighed and muttered, "What I wouldn't give for even Teal'c's sense of humor right now," which only served to confuse Dendron even further.

"Who is this Teal'c?"

"Nevermind," Jack said, "just get on with it."

Dendron gave him a look, shook his head and said, "Alright. Boys, listen up. Today we are going through the whole training schedule. Jack, today you will watch them as you begin your own exercises. I will begin to introduce you to exercises similar to what you will endure once you enter the barracks. You may all begin your run. Delki, remove Jack's rope. Jack, keep up with them, or you will be punished. Don't try to run away either. We'll easily catch you. Now go!"

With that the six older boys stood up, turned to Dendron, placed a fist against their chest in a salute, said, "Yes, Father," in unison and took off.

Confused, Jack only had time to think his questions before Delki untied the rope around his neck and shoved him forward. Jack began to run, and Delki quickly passed him and Jack forced himself to follow them. The older boy's much longer legs soon carried them ahead of Jack, and though he set a steady pace, there was no way he was going to be able to keep up. As he ran he at least was able to keep the boys in sight, especially when they settled to their own pace. Evidently this was going to be a distance run. Jack briefly contemplated making a run for it, but since he had no clue where he was, he decided for the moment to cooperate.

The boys followed a well-worn trail through the mountains. Jack was hard pressed to keep going. Though he was strong even at seven, he was not conditioned the way these boys were. His side, where Eperto had tripped over him earlier was bruised, and as his breathing became labored it began to ache fiercely. His muscles in his legs also began to ache, and the pain was made worse by the fact Jack didn't know how long they were going to be running. This vaguely reminded Jack of Basic Military Training. The only difference was he hadn't taken that at the age of seven.

So, instead of focusing on the pain, he set a steady running rhythm and zoned out. He kept the other boys in his focus, but his brain went elsewhere. He began to plan how he and his team would escape. He needed to make his break for freedom before he was placed in the barracks. He knew for certain that it would be most likely much harder to escape after he was enclosed.

He began to go over the words that Tauraus had taught him as he ran, to rehearse his Greek, and soon he lost all sense of his pain. As the camp came into sight, he became focused again, preparing himself to stop, only to see the older boys had already run through the camp and begun the trail again. Jack felt discouragement close up on him for a moment. As he had drawn himself back to the present he had, once again, become conscious of how tired and thirsty he was.

However, he now at least had an idea of how long the trail was, and so he once again pulled his brain away from his pains, a trick he had learned during his black op missions and continued running. As they came in sight of camp once again, Jack refused to allow himself to think about stopping. In fact, when the other boys pulled to a stop in front of Dendron, he was surprised, and it took him a moment to focus enough to stop as he reached them. They waited silently, as Jack crossed the space that separated them. The boys in front of him were panting slightly, but didn't seem too winded. Jack on the other hand, as he pulled to a stop, felt simply awful. His legs were shaking, and he felt a bit lightheaded. He was breathing so hard he couldn't hear above the pounding in his head as his heartbeat thundered in his ears.

He estimated that they had been running for a fast clip well over an hour. Jack desperately needed a drink, so when he heard Dendron's voice over the pounding in his ears telling them all to go get one, he was more than willing to comply. He followed the others to a nearby stream where kneeled down and raised water to their mouth in their hands. Jack gratefully drank his own water in a similar manner, not caring whether or not the stream was clean.

The boys quickly finished and trotted back to Dendron. Jack slowly pulled himself up and followed. Dendron faced him as he approached. "You were too slow, Jack," he said. "I told you to keep up, or you would be punished. Reiki, please give Jack ten stripes."

Reiki looked a little reluctant and said, "For a seven year old, he kept up well, Father. He didn't fall too far behind. Not to mention it is his first day."

"Reiki," Dendron said, his face losing its gentleness. That was all he had to say. He handed Reiki a stick with multiple leather straps tied to the end.

"For crying out loud," Jack said in English, his breathing almost under control, as he held his hands up defensively. "Keep that thing away from me." He eyed the whip and his eyes darted back and forth between Reiki and Dendron.

"Flogging is a common punishment for any weakness or breaking of rules. You'd better get used to it," Reiki said. Then, conspiratorially he whispered, "Listen. Try not to cry out, if you can. Take it like a man, or it will get worse."

Jack glared at him. "You honesty don't expect me to just let you hit me with that, do you?"

"A true warrior will accept his punishment without complaint and bear it with honor," Dendron said, his voice strong and his eyes boring into Jack's.

Jack snorted, "You're joking, right? If a punishment is deserved maybe. Not like this."

Dendron's expression grew harder. "Failure to bear one's punishment is a serious breaking of rules. Perhaps I should double the number?"

Jack froze. "Obviously something is lacking in our communication department," Jack said, "I think what I was going for was _no _punishment."

Dendron, if anything, grew angrier. "Themo, Hitsa, hold him down for his punishment. He must learn to obey orders."

Jack at that moment tried to dart away, but the large youth known as Themo, grabbed the rope around his neck. Jack was brought to a sudden choking halt.

Themo grabbed one arm and the other boy, Hitsa, a sallow-looking youth grabbed his other arm. Hitsa pulled Jack's red robe down exposing his bare back.

Dendron pointed to Jack, "Now, Reiki, give Jack 15 lashes. Ten for failing to keep up with the rest of you and another five for arguing with a direct order."

Reiki nodded reluctantly and came to stand behind Jack. Jack growled and began to struggle against the older boys, but Themo once again pulled the rope around his neck tight, and Jack suddenly found himself concentrating on breathing. He was so busy with that, he found himself unprepared for the sharp pain against his back. He drew in a gasping breath as the lash met his bare skin, and began to twist again. Another lash followed.

Jack gritted his teeth and glared at the ground, soundless as the lash fell again and again. The leather that struck him, stung and he could feel welts forming on his skin, but it was not sharp enough to break the skin. Jack slowly counted as the lashes fell, and as the final pain lanced through him, he felt his legs collapse. To his surprise, he found the overall stress of the day too much for his body to handle and even as he tried to stop himself, he dropped away in a dead faint.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Jack."

The voice hovered on the edge of the blackness. Jack groaned, blissfully floating, free of pain.

"Jack."

The voice was beginning to sound angry. Unwillingly, Jack found himself moving toward consciousness.

"Jack!"

Jack awoke with a start. For a moment, he didn't know where he was. Then he looked up into the eyes of Delki and everything came back to him in a flood of pain that exploded with awareness in his back.

"Gah," he said, as he tried to sit up, "What happened?"

Delki grinned. "You fainted."

Jack stopped and gave his full attention to Delki. "I did...what?"

"You fainted. You didn't make a sound through the lashes, but when it was over, you dropped to the ground in a dead faint."

"I did not," Jack stubbornly protested, "I simply...decided to take a break so you guys could have fun without me."

"Well," Delki said with a smirk, as he helped Jack to his feet, "whatever you did, it's time for the meal. If you don't want to go without food until tomorrow, you'd better come."

"How long was I...taking a break?"

"A couple hours. Dendron was so impressed with the way you actually handled your punishment, that he said you could rest for a while."

"What did I miss?"

Delki grinned. "Not too much. We ran some hurdles and did some gymnastics."

"Ah. So, lunch?"

Dendron's grin broadened and motioned to their left.

Groaning, Jack leaned on Delki's arm weakly as they headed toward the center area of the camp. After a few moment, he was able to walk on his own, aware that weakness could not be tolerated in this situation. He walked stiffly, his legs and back extremely soar, but he was determined to not fall behind. They approached the center area and Jack scanned his surroundings. A table was set up with a pile of bowls and one large cauldron. Jack and Delki joined the line of children as they each picked up a bowl and headed toward the cauldron.

As they approached, Jack felt, and heard, his stomach rumble. "So, what are we eating?" he asked, suddenly very aware of his hunger.

"Blood soup, as usual. It's all we ever eat."

"Blood...soup?" Jack said, but at that moment, they reached the cauldron. Jack held up his bowl. The older man as the bowl scooped a ladle in and came out with a chunk of meat that was floating in a dark red liquid. He poured the meat and the blood in the bowl and Jack was left staring at his meal.

Delki gripped his shoulder and steered Jack to where their Herd was sitting. Jack, who was still slightly unsteady from his bout with unconsciousness could only stare in horror at his meal. As he and Delki reached the other boys, he looked up and said, "Please don't tell me this is all we get?"

Reiki grinned and pointed toward his bowl, "That's all you get."

Jack sighed and said, "I told you not to tell me!" Glumly, he sat down and poked at his meat. He didn't feel as hungry anymore. The meat was obviously undercooked but the boys around him gobbled it quickly and then tipped the bowl back and drank the red liquid.

"So," Jack said, once more breaking the silence, "what is the meat floating in?"

Hitsa, the sickly looking child, stared at him with hollow eyes and then said, speaking to Jack for the first time, "It is blood, of course."

Jack sighed again. "This is all we get?" he questioned once more, plaintively.

Reiki nodded, losing patience.

Jack looked at the meat and then shrugged. He'd had worse. He slowly picked up his meat and brought it toward his mouth. Just as it was about to enter, something bumped against Jack's shoulder and he dropped the piece of meat in the dust. Staring at it woefully for a moment, he finally turned to see who had bumped him and looked up into Erpeto's smiling face.

"Aw, did the widdle dog drop his dinner?" Erpeto asked, his smirk screaming all sorts of mockery. "Now you've got to eat it out of the dirt like the dog you are."

Jack could have done several things at that point. Perhaps the one he chose to do was not the wisest course of action, but he couldn't help himself. Fully aware of all the eyes on him as the other children watched to see what he would do, he calmly leaned down, picked up the piece of meat, casually brushed some of the dirt off, turned to Erpeto, and with a wide smile, jumped and smashed the piece of meat into Erpeto's face.

For a moment, everything froze. The children and older men that were there, were all motionless with shock. Food was a precious commodity, one that no one could afford to waste, and Erpeto was a dangerous youth, one that even the teachers did not like to cross. Erpeto was also completely still, blood dripping into his eyes, nose, and mouth as he stared, dumbfounded at Jack. Then the tableau exploded.

With an almost inhuman roar of rage, Erpeto swung at Jack. Jack, who had been expecting it, ducked and the force of the swing sent Erpeto stumbling away. The boys were thrilled: jumping, moving, shouting. A couple of other fights began to break out, and suddenly the whole area was a seething mass of fists and blood. For once, the teachers were trying to break up the fights, but they were making no headway.

Jack ducked under another boy's punches, only to spot Erpeto running crazily in his direction. With a blood-covered face, he looked quite mad as he continued shrieking things that Jack didn't understand. Obviously Tauraus hadn't taught him Greek cursing yet. Jack held his ground, bouncing lightly on the soles of his feet as he waited for the boy.

Just as Erpeto was about to reach Jack, another couple boys crashed into Snake-boy's side and sent him flying away from Jack. Jack was left completely unharmed, but slightly surprised. He stared at the dogpile in front of him and then turned away with a small smirk on his face as he said, "Sweet."

"AttenTION!"

The voice rang through the camp. The training the boys had undergone cut through the chaos and they all snapped to attention where they were. Even Jack.

In his view stood a man he hadn't seen before, but who presence instantly dominated the entire area. He was tall, taller than a full-grown Jack, and his black hair was turning silver. His piercing black eyes scanned the area and came to rest on Glitsa, who was still restraining a larger boy on the ground.

"Glitsa," the man said, his voice at a depth to match Teal'c's, "what's going on here?"

Glitsa immediately dropped the boy and turned ashen. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

At the lack of response, the man turned to look at the rest of the teachers. They all shrank back, obviously avoiding the man's questioning look. Finally, he settled on a child. The boy looked to be about 14, with a split lip that was slowly dribbling blood down his chin.

"You!"the man roared. The boy jumped in fear, then recovered and hammered a fist against his chest. "Yes, sir!"

"What is happening here, boy?"

The boy looked absolutely stricken with fear, but he began to stammer slowly, "Erpeto knocked that new kid's meat out of his hand and so the new kid, Jack, picked it up and rubbed it into Erpeto's face, and then Erpeto attacked Jack. Uh, after that, everyone else just kind of jumped in."

The man nodded, and the boy nearly collapsed in relief. The man turned his eyes back to the rest of the boys and roared, "Erpeto, Jack, forward!"

Jack didn't move from where he was, but before he could cause another scene, Reiki grabbed his rope and yanked him forward. Erpeto managed to pull himself out from under the two boys that had knocked him over and quickly ran to the front as well. As they reached the front of the group, Reiki released the rope and pushed Jack forward so he came to a stumbling halt in front of the intimidating man.

Jack glared at the man fearlessly, creating an amazing contrast to Erpeto, who stood trembling beside him, eyes downcast. Those who were watching were instantly impressed once more with the small child.

The man studied the two boys in front of him carefully, then he turned and spoke once more to the entire group. "In all my days, I have never seen the Agoge in such a state of disorder. I am ordering you all to not allow this to happen again." He seemed to stare into each boy's eyes as he looked around, and in unison, all the boys saluted and said, "Yes, father."

The man then turned his attention to the two boys in front of him. "You two come with me."

Jack who still had gotten nothing to eat, opened his mouth to object, but decided for the moment to comply. Obviously this was some big shot, and getting on his bad side might not be a good idea. Sighing Jack shook his head, and muttered, "Aw for crying out loud," and followed the man and Erpeto as they walked toward a nearby tent.

The clearing behind them remained completely silent. Jack felt the pressure of a hundred eyes on his back as he entered the tent.

After the flap closed behind him, the man motioned for both him and Erpeto to sit. Then, looking at Jack he asked, "Aren't you a little young to be at this stage of the Agoge?"

Jack shrugged, "Aren't you a little young to be the father of every boy out there?"

Erpeto looked at Jack in horror. Then, trembling, turned back to see the older man's reaction to Jack's statement. He seemed to be expecting the older man to explode with rage and murder them both, but to both of their surprise, he simply began laughing.

Holding out his hand to Jack the man said, "Obviously you're not from around here. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Spathatos. In Spartan culture, when boys enter the Agoge, they refer to all instructors as Father. I do have a son in the early stage of the Agoge, but no boys out here are mine."

Jack, couldn't help it. He grudgingly took the man's hand and shook it. The man had an air about him, something that Jack couldn't help but automatically respect. So far, the man had done nothing to earn his dislike. Like the first time that Jack met Teal'c, he instantly sensed that this man was a good man. However, Jack never trusted easily, so he decided to test the waters.

"So," Jack said, "are you some kind of big-shot?"

Erpeto once again looked on in horror as Jack dared to speak to this man with such a casual tone. Spathatos just grinned.

"I'm merely an old warrior who has fought and won many battles and who reports directly to Heracles. And, with an accident of lineage, people have to automatically defer to me. Pay no attention to it."

Jack looked at the man askance. Regardless of the gray in his hair, he didn't look that old. However, Jack thought ironically, technically he was no seven-year-old either.

"Now," Spathatos said, turning toward Erpeto, "what's this I hear about you knocking the food out of this boy's hand?"

Erpeto nearly wet himself. The king's brother was talking to _him_. He swallowed nervously and said, "It was an accident. It won't happen again."

Though Spathatos kept the twinkle in his eyes, the corners of his mouth turned downwards and he said very sternly, "It had better not."

Erpeto nodded frantically, and then Spathatos said, "You're dismissed."

Erpeto saluted and scrambled out as fast as he could go. However, as Jack began to go, Spathatos stopped him.

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't half of your dinner end up on that boy's face?"

Jack nodded and his stomach chose that moment to growl hungrily. Spathatos grinned again and opened a satchel on his waist. He pulled out a loaf of bread that wasn't fresh, but looked far better than the soup that the people had tried to give Jack early.

Jack looked at Spathatos suspiciously, but then, he took the bread and began to eat is as quickly as possible. Spathatos watched him and then said, "Now, being new here, there are things you need to understand if you are going to survive."

Jack watched him and listened as he continued to eat. Spathatos continued, "First of all, you obviously are learning Greek well, but there are some people you should be a bit respectful too. I can tell you hide your fear well, which will only serve you in the long run, but you must be respectful to all of the instructors if you want to survive. They are able to administer punishments at will, and will do so, especially if they don't like your attitude. Try to temper it down around them. Choose your words carefully. It is a hard playing ground, and only those in good condition can survive what is to come. Also, I'd advise you to learn to steal food as quickly as possible, especially if you are going to go shoving it in other people's faces. Remember these two things, and you'll do fine. They picked well when they chose you to join the Agoge."

Jack glared at that. "Unfortunately," he said, having finished the last mouthful of bread, "I don't intend to stay 'chosen.'"

Spathatos grinned. "Neither do many that come here against their will, but none have managed to leave yet. I'd get used to it if I were you. Now, get back out there and show them who's boss."

Jack's look spoke volumes. It held a grudging respect and a bit of gratitude, but underneath that, there was a firmness that showed he wasn't going to give up, no matter what anyone said. Turning, he walked out of the tent, and behind him he heard Spathatos laugh. A plan was already forming in his mind for his first escape attempt, and he was going to make sure that it was the last as well. He and his team would soon be off of this planet, and he would be sure that the address was going to be deleted and never dialed again.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It had been four days since Jack had come to this lovely place. And now, after all this time he had decided one thing. It was far past time to leave.

Every day basically followed the same schedule. Crack of dawn everyone was woken up and they started with a quick jog around the trail. And every morning, since Jack couldn't keep up, he was flogged ten times. He hadn't fainted since the first time, and his body was slowly beginning to adjust. However, since he hadn't fainted again, he had been required to participate in the other activities his 'father' had in store for him. He wasn't required to do any of the more advanced gymnastics and exercises that the older boys were practicing, but Dendron kept him constantly moving and twisting as he began the more 'mild' exercises. He was asked to support himself on his arms for long minutes at a time, to hold squats for what felt like eternity, and to slowly use and utilize every muscle in his body. By the time lunch came, he could barely move his eyes.

A short lunch full of nutritious blood soup was followed by a brief elementary education. Math and basic writing skills were taught, and Jack was so relieved to not be moving that he began to pick up very quickly on how to write greek. This time, however, only occupied about the space of a couple hours. After that, they were off on 'training' hunting parties. Jack was kept very closely watched as they stalked and brought down creatures that were like nothing Jack had ever seen before, though they made pig-like noises as they were brought down. The long hours of trotting and stalking tended to stiffen Jack's legs to the point that if they actually found the animals, he had a hard time starting the pursuit. One of the days they had stalked another herd of boys instead of prey, and that had ended in a much more exciting manner as a mock battle followed.

After they returned with or without prey, they meditated for an hour. Jack found this, strangely, to be one of the hardest things for him to do. Though he was exhausted beyond belief, he still had a hard time quieting his mind and body enough to sit still. When he had finally learned to properly meditate on the third day, however, he was surprised to find how relaxed he felt afterward.

This period of meditation was followed by singing and dancing which Jack had tried desperately to avoid doing, but unfortunately was not given a choice in the matter. The singing was very interesting, but he only understood so many of the words. He was surprised to realize the second night that they were singing part of The Iliad, but the first and third night he didn't have a clue what story was being told. Several instructors were working with him on the words, trying to explain the meaning of the tales, and he was slowly picking them up. He had avoided singing too loud, but when people had complimented him on his voice, he had found himself to be strangely pleased.

He found the dancing to be strangely relaxing, though he was very glad that none of his team was around to watch him. All of the boys stood in a circle and one designated boy would begin to lead with an intricate step that everyone else, except for Jack, already knew. Jack learned that it was called the_ pyrhhic, _or weapon dance. Some musicians would play in the corner and then the Spartan boys began to move and dance. Though Jack couldn't pick up the steps right away, the quick, flowing movement of the dance allowed his muscles to lose their tension, and after a while he fell into the beat of the song, if not the actual step. As it grew darker and the boys continued dancing, Jack found it had an almost hypnotic effect on him as the half-naked boys in front and behind him moved in synchronization and the firelight danced off their skin.

After they finished dancing, it had been time for bed and the first three nights he had crashed. He had fallen asleep instantly, exhausted beyond all measure. However, tonight he wasn't as tired. In fact, the sounds his stomach was making were keeping him very much awake.

He looked at the other boys as they snickered behind their hands. Reiki and Delki had become pretty good friends with him. They were starting to understand his humor, and the whole camp now respected him for standing up to Erpeto. Erpeto hadn't bugged him since Spathatos had talked to him, but Jack could tell the other boy was biding his time. Themo simply seemed to accept Jack. He wasn't overly friendly or overly rude, he simply endured. He followed orders and seemed to lack a personality besides that. Hitsa, the sickly boy, didn't do much at all. He had a very pale complexion, and though he kept up with the other boys, he always seemed to be exhausted and half-dead. Nueia and Stilta were brothers, and though they didn't say much, they were an integral part of the herd. They supported each other silently, and when they were tracking and hunting, Reiki almost always called on them to lead the group. Jack was very impressed with their skills. They were almost as silent as Teal'c when they hunted.

As he stared at the other members of his herd, Delki grinned and said, "Not as tired tonight, Tigris?"

Jack shook his head and in an over-exaggerated move, rubbed his grumbling stomach. Reiki motioned with his hand. "Want to go find something to eat?"

At these words, Jack truly came awake. This was, in fact, part of his plan that he hadn't yet been able to initiate. He knew that many of the boys stole food from the Helots, and if he was ever going to leave, he at least needed to find where his teammates were.

However, he didn't let any of his elation show. Instead, he simply nodded his head and said, "My stomach and I would be eternally grateful."

Themo looked at him and said, "Now listen. If you try to escape, we'll never take you with us again. You got that? You haven't tried so far, but don't think we trust you yet. Mark my words though, you better not try anything."

Jack smirked, "Yeah sure, you betcha."

Reiki laughed and said, "Oh for crying out loud, Themo," which caused Jack to smirk. Reiki had just said that in English. Jack noticed several other boys throughout camp begin to repeat some of the English phrases he tended to use as well. Reiki continued, "Jack's one of us. He wouldn't do anything to purposefully cause us to be punished." Then Reiki looked at Jack, and asked, "Right, Jack?"

Jack looked straight into Reiki's eyes and said, "That's right, Reiki. I swear I won't try to escape while I'm under your care."

Reiki grinned and pointed to Hitsa, "Take the rope off him, Hitsa."

Hitsa looked a little startled and said, in his tremulous voice, "You sure, Reiki?"

Reiki nodded, "He promised, didn't he?"

Hitsa shrugged and taking out his knife, quickly sliced through the rope. Jack scratched where the rope had been and grinned at Hitsa. "Thanks," he said, "four days of that was plenty."

Reiki motioned toward the trail. "Let's go."

Nueia and Stilta led the way as the group of boys moved out into the forest. It was dark enough that most other boys in the camp were asleep, with a few moving out into the night to gather their own food as well. Jack reveled in the feeling of no rope on his neck as he followed the other wraith-like boys into the night. They traveled for a couple miles until they emerged from the forest and came out onto the edge of an open field. Jack could see plants growing and realized they were now on irrigated farm land. In the distance, on the other side of the field, he could make out small houses. Reiki silently motioned toward the houses and the boys took off around the edge of the field.

The plants in the field obviously were not mature enough to eat, though Jack could see stealing potential later in the year when they were a little bigger. Though he was not a fan of stealing or breaking the law, it seemed it was expected here. Jack's own personal training had taught him the value of being prepared at all times, and sometimes you had to steal in order to survive. It didn't make it right, but it sometimes made it necessary.

They moved silently between the houses until they came upon a large chunk of meat hanging from the roof of a home. Reiki nodded at Nueia and he quickly sliced the rope that was holding the meat up. Stilta beneath him caught it as it fell, and all seven boys grinned at each other. Jack couldn't help the adrenaline that pumped through his system as they completed their task. That was when the door opened.

A small boy walked out, a familiar looking pair of glasses dangling off his nose. He spotted the shadowy figures on the porch and with a start jumped back toward the door. However, as his frightened blue eyes looked at the boys outside, he couldn't help but see a certain face as the light from inside shone off a pair of dark brown eyes. His mouth dropped open and he was about to speak, when the boys outside just seemed to disappear into the darkness, leaving behind a simple cut rope that blew in the evening wind.

Daniel continued to stare in shock, and then he whispered one word that seemed to fade from his mouth before it was even spoken.

"Jack?"

* * *

The boys were all grinning as they met together on the other side of the field. If anyone had noticed Jack, they might have seen his grin was the biggest of all, but for different reasons. He had found Daniel! There was no mistaking that pair of glasses or those intelligently confused blue eyes. Behind him, inside the house, he thought he had even caught a glimpse of blond hair. Jack couldn't stop grinning even as he accepted his meat and began to eat, reveling in the flavor. Step one of his plan was complete.

* * *

Daniel slowly closed the door behind him as he turned toward Sam. She looked at his ashen face and worried, came toward him.

"Daniel?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

Daniel shook his head, trying to come to his senses. "I think I just saw Jack," he said.

In an instant, Sam was at his side, her hands grasping his thin arms in a vice-like grip. Words poured out of her mouth in English, and she couldn't seem to stop the flow. "Is he waiting for us? What did he say? Are we getting out of here? Where is he? Let's go find him! Should I pack my bags? Did he say where Teal'c is?"

"Sam!" Daniel interrupted, finally recovering from his surprise. "He was stealing our meat with a group of other boys. He didn't say anything. They just took it and left."

Sam instantly deflated. "He was stealing our...meat?"

Daniel nodded.

In the week and a half since they had been here, Sam had struggled. She was having a hard time picking up the language. She was a genius when it came to technology, but as far as languages went, she wasn't really interested. The Helots were required to work out in the fields all day, and were forced to feed themselves. Mainly, they were left alone by the Spartans, but several times since they had been here, they had heard of homes being broken into and food stolen. Though the Helots may have been upset, they knew who the culprits were and so didn't speak too loudly in anger about it. Sam and Daniel, however, had been quite indignant. It wasn't as though the Spartans couldn't feed themselves. They were now sending their children out to steal from their slaves.

Sam had also had a hard time with the lack of technology. Though they now had seven-year-old bodies, and they were exhausted by working out in the fields all day, it simply wasn't taxing enough to challenge Sam's mind and she found herself becoming bored. Her incredible mind simply felt like it was wasting away, and even learning the language wasn't helping. She tried to speak it, but found herself too distracting to think about it. Her mind scrambled looking for solutions that weren't there and she began to become quite miserable.

Daniel was also bored beyond belief. Working in the fields was very monotonous, and though the other Helots were kind, they were also scared and no one wanted to explain things to him. They desperately wanted to go home.

"I've been thinking, Daniel," Sam said suddenly. Daniel turned and waited expectantly. Seeing his interest, knowing he was suffering mentally as much as she was, she continued, "I have a couple of theories about how that drink that they gave us works."

Daniel nodded and listened with continued interest as he tried to hide his disappointment that her thinking hadn't led to an escape plan.

"I think," Sam continued, "the drink utilizes some sort of modified time device or some type of time reversing technology that enters the blood stream and at a cellular level reverses the aging process of certain reparable cells."

"So, why weren't our minds affected?" Daniel asked.

"Every human as they develop are given a certain amount of brain cells. Brain cells are the same throughout life, but once they are lost they cannot be replaced. This drink that they gave us must not be able to repair or revert the brain matter leaving their warriors' experiences and intelligence intact."

"I don't get it," Daniel said. "How did they modify a time dilation device into a drink? Don't time dilation devices usually just slow down time, not make it go backwards?"

Sam nodded and looked thoughtful, "Like I said, it's a theory. I'm not sure of the exact specifics yet. However, the other possibility I've been considering is a reverse of what happened on Argos."

Daniel looked surprised, "You mean the drink might contain nanobots?" He made a disgusted face, and Sam couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips.

Quickly, she asserted control and said, "It is a possibility. The nanobots could also be geared toward only repairing those certain cells that can be repaired. However, without the proper equipment I won't be able to test either of my theories to find out if reversing the de-aging process is even possible."

Daniel nodded. "Just another reason to get back to the SGC. So, do you have any idea where Teal'c might be? Have you heard anything about that?"

Sam shook her head negatively. "No. I've heard mention of the 'snake-warrior' village, but so far I haven't heard anything about where it might be."

Daniel sighed and pushed his overly-large glasses back on his face. "I haven't heard anything either. I haven't even heard any news of General Hammond or any other SGC teams. You'd think they would have sent someone by now. It's been nearly two weeks. I mean, we did manage to get the gate open before we were captured. That should have told them something was wrong."

Sam nodded, "A lot of things aren't adding up here. It is possible that he sent another team, but they were killed before they could mount any sort of rescue. Or it's possible that he tried to contact us and decided that without more intel it was too dangerous to send anyone else. We don't have our radios Daniel, we wouldn't even know if they were here right now, and they definitely wouldn't recognize us even if they saw us."

"Well," Daniel said, "at least we know Jack's alive and hopefully he now knows where we are."

Sam nodded, "At least there's that."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It was with a bit of surprised sadness that Jack said goodbye to his herd. He hadn't expected to feel anything, but he had grown very fond of the boys that he had been living with for the past week. Reiki especially seemed to share his sadness.

"We eagerly await your return," he told Jack as they clasped forearms. Jack grinned and nodded, though he wasn't planning on returning. Glitsa was transferring him to the Barracks today, and Jack had no compunctions about escaping while under Glitsa's command. He knew that because he hadn't tried to escape all week, everyone was relaxing their guard, and he would not have a better opportunity to escape. So, he bid farewell to the other boys, shared one final hateful look with Erpeto and then walked out of the camp with Glitsa.

Glitsa, Jack had decided, was a buffoon. For all that he was in charge, he had done nothing to earn Jack's respect. Though Jack knew how to follow orders and be respectful, he only did so for those he felt actually deserved his respect; a principle he had demonstrated time and time again. Glitsa's lack of attention would have been apparent even to Daniel on that first trip to Abydos. His gaze wandered over the countryside, and he rarely looked back to see if Jack was following. Jack went fully into Special Ops mode, and in the next instant, he faded into the countryside.

He hid himself for several long moments as the sound of Glitsa's footsteps traveled further and further away. Then, he smoothly rose to his feet and using every scrap of skill he possessed began to make off toward the Helots' village. He knew he could not enter until nightfall, and that the challenge would be remaining hidden until then. All of the Spartans, even their children, were extremely able trackers, and he knew he would have to pretend that Bra'tac was on his trail if he was to live to see freedom.

Jack soundlessly traveled through the forest, stepping on rocks where possible, crossing several streams, walking upriver for a time, and then jumping into the limbs of nearby trees. He was able to leap from bough to branch for a while, but eventually had to resume his trek on the ground. He left fake trails in several different directions and then found a secure point high in the branches of a sturdy tree and hid himself within the leaves. There he prepared to stay for the rest of the day. His week among the Spartans had already allowed his body to adjust to being under a lot of strain with very little food, and so it was with ease that he relaxed in the tree.

The sounds of pursuit started to reach his ears several hours after he had left Glitsa. It made him wonder how long it had taken the moron to even realize he was missing. He heard several men come rather close to his hiding place, but they soon wandered further off. Each time it happened, he would tense, absolutely still, but ready to spring at a moment's notice, and then he would relax as the party would pass. At one point he heard Glitsa's voice bellowing for him to return at once, but the only result was that a smirk found its way onto his lips.

As it began to darken, the search parties seemed to be traveling further away, and Jack decided they must be heading toward the Stargate. It gave him a general idea of which direction to bring his team when he found them. As the night closed in around him, he dropped from the tree and once again resumed his trek toward the place where he had seen Daniel and Sam a few days before. As he passed, the leaves didn't even stir from his ghost-like movement.

* * *

Antioch had decided to leave the capital and travel out to see how the Agoge had survived its newest member. He knew that Jack was due to be placed in the Barracks today, so he decided to stop at the camp to check on the older boys before he traveled to the actual Barracks. However, as he entered the camp, it was only to be greeted by the sight of Glitsa charging back into it.

At the sight of Antioch, however, Glitsa's running slowed and a chagrined expression crossed his features. He walked up to Antioch and said, "I'm afraid we have a problem, sir."

Antioch sighed. "Let me guess. He escaped?"

Glitsa gulped and nodded, "There has been no attempt all week. His herd felt it safe to remove his rope after the fourth day, and he has been a amazingly attentive pupil. While walking him to the Barracks today, I did not even think about relaxing my guard. I was half-way to the barracks when I turned and realized he was gone."

Antioch stared at Glitsa in shock, "You let him walk behind you?"

If anything, Glitsa looked even more embarrassed. "He hasn't tried anything all week! How was I to know he would run as soon as my back was turned? I thought he'd given up!" Glitsa's voice had taken on a whining tone that Antioch recognized and hated. Even when they were younger, Glita had never had an easy time of admitting his own mistakes and learning from them.

"You were supposed to know because I warned you that he WOULD try something, Glitsa!" Antioch said, his irritation rising at the small man in front of him.

Then, Antioch shook his head and quenched his growing anger. "Your punishment will have to wait. I'm afraid the priority right now will be finding the boy before he gets too much of a head start. Organize search parties. Use the boys. It will be good training for them. Advertise a reward for the winner."

Glitsa nodded and immediately bellowed for the camp to gather. Like the good little soldiers they were, the boy's gathered as quickly as possible. Glitsa quickly filled the boys in on their orders and the boys moved into action. Setting off in their herds, they took the established search patterns. Antioch was left with the other mentors. "Spread out!" he roared, "Find him!" And with that, everyone took off.

* * *

"What's going on?" Daniel asked, leaning on his shovel and wiping sweat off his brow. He was talking about the groups of Spartans who had been traveling through the fields all day. The other Helots kept their heads down and continued working as though the Spartan warriors were not there, but Daniel couldn't help his curiosity.

Sam shrugged, "I don't know. Could be the Colonel has something to do with it."

Daniel's face lit up and he looked very pleased. "Do you think he's escaped?" he asked, his expression hopeful.

"Possibly," Sam said, "but that's an awful lot of soldiers for just one boy. And even if they are all looking for him, with that many after him there's no way he'll be able to get away."

"I don't know, Sam," Daniel said, "Jack can be pretty amazing."

"Yes," Sam agreed, "but he's not invisible."

Sighing, Daniel had to agree, and silently, his shoulders falling, he went back to work.

However, as the day passed, and the Spartan parties continued to occasionally be seen in the distance, Daniel couldn't help the hope that rose in his chest once again. There was no reason those parties HAD to be searching for Jack, for all Daniel knew this could be a weekly pattern. But deep inside he just knew it had to have something to do with their lost team member, and that thought caused a smile to stay on his lips the rest of the day.

* * *

As dusk approached and the search parties had still been unable to find the boy, Antioch couldn't help the growing disgust he felt toward Glitsa. The man would have to be severely punished for this. However, Antioch also couldn't help the growing respect he was feeling toward the boy. Though they had thought they had found his trail several times, leading into all different directions, each time the trail had led to a dead end. No one had even so much as glimpsed the boy all day, and Antioch was beginning to worry. Though the boy may have been a man previously, the wilderness was no safe place for a body only seven years old. Antioch could only assume the boy's ultimate goal was the Chappa'ai, but even as he ordered the search parties to center around that area, something nagged at him in the back of his mind.

Abruptly, as the last search party disappeared in the distance, toward the Chappa'ai, it came to Antioch, and by then it was too late to call the search parties back. A flash of memory erupted into his brain and in the form of two penetrating brown eyes and a question:

"_Where are my friends?" Two fists clenched aggressively, a small mouth firmly set._

With a gasp of shock, Antioch's head jerked up in the direction of the Helot's village. It was nearly dark and Antioch could only hope he wasn't too late.

* * *

Jack reached the Helot's village unchallenged. He made his way stealthily to the house where they had stolen the meat a few days before, and softly knocked on the door. The door instantly swung open as though it had been waiting for him.

A small boy of about seven stared back at Jack, an over-sized pair of glasses hung off of two ears and low on the nose. A small hand pushed the glasses up further as two large blue eyes took in the sight of Jack.

"Jack?" a small voice asked.

"Daniel?" Jack replied with a familiar smirk.

At the sound of his name, Daniel threw himself into the older boy's arms, and Jack affectionately held him for a moment, before tousling his hair and letting him go. He looked behind Daniel to see a very tired-looking, small, blond-haired girl who also appeared to be about seven staring back at him with bright blue eyes.

"Carter," he said, with an official nod.

She grinned and her smile brightened her facing erasing all traces of her exhaustion. "It's good to see you, sir," she beamed.

"Likewise," he said, a grin pulling at the corners of his lips as well.

Daniel's face beamed and he then he seemed to come to his senses. "You'd better get in here, soldiers have been looking for you all day," Daniel said in English. They all spoke in English, and as far as Daniel knew that was the only language Sam and Jack still understood. He could only imagine if Sam was having such a hard time learning the language, it must be truly awful for Jack.

Daniel stared at Jack as he walked past Daniel into the house, and Daniel couldn't help the small sound of surprise that escaped him as he caught sight of Jack's back. Jack's back seemed to be one mass of red welts that must have been very painful, but Jack still moved with a cat-like grace that Daniel could never ascertain or mimic.

"Jack, w-what happened?" Daniel asked looking horrified.

Jack turned and looked at him, and twitched one of his eyebrows in his friend's general direction.

"What?"

The familiar word brought back another rush of relief to Sam, but as Jack turned back toward Daniel, she saw immediately what Daniel had been curious about. Jack was tall for his 'age,' and he only wore on red cloth that was looped around on of his shoulders and wrapped around his belly, covering all sensitive areas. His entire back that was visible, aside from a small portion that was hidden by the red cloth, was covered with red welts. Some of the welts had faded to mere bruising, but it didn't look any less painful.

"Sir!" Sam said.

He looked over his shoulder at her, and at that moment seemed to realize what Daniel and Sam were talking about.

"Oh," he said, "that." Then he shrugged, "It's nothing, Carter, I'm fine."

As she was about to speak in protest, he rubbed his hands together and said, "Okay, next step on the agenda. Where's Teal'c?"

Before either Sam or Daniel could answer, the cloth that separated the front area of the house from the back area suddenly was pulled aside and someone walked in.

Jack dropped into a dangerous crouch, but when the perpetrator merely began to scream, he lifted a surprised face toward Daniel.

Daniel for his part, quickly walked up to the frightened woman and began to talk to her in Greek.

"It's alright! It's alright! This is Jack, he came with us through the Chappa'ai," at his words, the woman who had walked in, seemed to calm down and stopped screaming. After she had gained her composure for a few moments she finally seemed to realize that it was only a small boy in her house and not a room full of Spartan warriors. Jack couldn't help rolling his eyes.

Daniel turned back to Sam and Jack and in English said, "This is Herodota. She's been our caretaker. I told her that your name is Jack and you came with us through the Stargate. They call it the Chappa'ai here, it must be a remnant from the time that they lived as slaves to the Goa'uld. I've been considering the possibility that..."

"Daniel," Jack interrupted, "why don't you ask the lovely woman if she knows where Teal'c is?"

"Oh, right," Daniel said, and then in an abashed way muttered, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Then he turned to the woman, and in Greek said, "Do you know where the village that they keep the snake-warriors in is located?"

Jack shrugged internally, he loved messing with Daniel, and if Daniel wanted to assume Jack didn't know Greek, Jack wasn't going to tell him otherwise. It wouldn't be the first time after all.

The woman continued to look with trepidation at Jack and then she turned to Daniel and said, "It is an hour's walk from here in the direction that the sun sets."

Jack could barely contain his excitement as he waited for the translation he knew Daniel would provide.

"She said it's only an hour's walk from here toward where the sun set!" Daniel said, his excitement palpable. "This is great, Jack! Let's go get Teal'c."

Jack nodded and bowed politely to the woman, then in English he said, "Thank you."

The woman seemed to understand the gesture and nodded back, relaxing slightly. Jack looked around and asked Daniel, "Is there a back way out of this place?"

Daniel nodded and Sam said, "It's this way, sir." Jack saluted the woman and then he followed his two teammates toward the back of the house.

The back door was carefully hidden in the workings of the house, and it was with silence that the three crept out the back door. Daniel groaned softly and Jack looked at him, concerned.

"Sorry," the smaller boy whispered, "I'm just sore from working in the fields all day."

Jack shrugged and motioned for Sam to take the lead. Daniel followed close behind her and they headed out of the village toward the last vestiges of the setting sun.

They walked slowly, Daniel's and Sam's young bodies already exhausted, but running on adrenaline as they moved toward their missing teammate. It took them two hours and it was fully dark by the time they crested and hill and looked down to see a settlement below them. It was lit by campfires that were planted throughout, and Jack could see several Spartan guard placements around the camp. There were around two dozen Jaffa wandering around, and Jack could hear the clank of chains as they moved around. Suddenly, he spotted a familiar form sitting near the fire.

"Wait here," he told Daniel and Sam, Daniel seemed about to protest, but when he looked up to do so, Jack was already gone.

He sighed and he and Sam stayed put. Sam, also looked upset about not being included, but years of military training prevented her from protesting.

Jack wormed his way down to the camp and around several partrolling guards. Then he crept into the shadow of the house behind Teal'c and whispered, "Don't look around, T."

Teal'c did not visibly react to the untrained eye, but Jack could see some of the tension drain off the Jaffa's shoulders.

"It is good to hear your voice, O'Neill," the Jaffa whispered quietly. Even though he had only spent a short time with his friend in child-form, he recognized the cadences of his friend's speech.

"Likewise, big guy," Jack said, grinning. "Look, I've got Daniel and Carter up in the forest. Do you have any way to get your chains off?"

"I do not, O'Neill, though I have attempted to do so many times."

"Okay," Jack said. "I'll go get some keys then. Who's got them?"

"The warrior in the main house. I believe he is sleeping at the moment. He carries them on his person at all times."

"Good," Jack said, and with a feral grin crept off toward the main building in the center of the settlement.

Soundlessly, he moved among the Jaffa, and if a few noted his passage, they didn't care enough to say anything. He entered the main building to find it completely dark inside. He heard the heavy even breathing of a large man sleeping and waited for his eyes to adjust. Once they had, he moved toward the figure on the bed. The figure stirred, and Jack froze. However, as the man rolled to his side, Jack heard the distinct clinking of keys and his eyes zeroed in on the source of the sound. Taking out his knife, he quickly sidled up next to the sleeping man and quickly sawed through the man's leather belt. He slowly slipped the keyring off of the belt, and then, holding the keys tightly, moved toward the doorway. He slipped out just as silently as he had arrived.

As he crept out of the main door, his eyes automatically went to where Teal'c had been sitting, and he was momentarily thrown off to find the Jaffa was no longer there. At that instant, two large arms grabbed him from behind and a very familiar voice said, "Very impressive, Jack, but I'm afraid this escape attempt is over."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Okay, I'm so spoiling you guys this week, but since a few of you have been such faithful reviewers, I decided it was alright. Enjoy.

Chapter 10

Jack twisted in the grip that held him, and Antioch, though he had a tight grip on the young body in his grasp, was suddenly surprised to find himself only clutching empty air.

Jack touched the ground and was off in the direction of the tree line. However, two Spartan guards were moving to cut him off. However, just as the soldier was about to reach Jack Teal'c's body came out of nowhere in a flying tackle that took him down. Chains and all, Teal'c was a frightening foe. Daniel and Sam attacked the other guard by attaching themselves to his feet and Jack scampered past. Teal'c knocked the guard out that he had landed on, and as the guard tripped that Daniel and Sam had grabbed, Teal'c leaned over and knocked him out as well.

"Let's go!" he yelled. Daniel and Sam immediately released their grips and ran to catch up to Jack. Teal'c moved as quickly as he could and Jack dashed under his chains to quickly unlock the manacles on his wrists and ankles. Antioch by this time had managed to grab the remaining guards and all were racing toward the weaponless team.

"Come on, Jack! Teal'c!" Daniel yelled from the tree line, and Jack and Teal'c ran toward their two friends. Antioch pulled out his zat and began to fire it at the disappearing figures. One of the blasts connected with Daniel, and with a scream of agony, Daniel collapsed, the electrical charge having a much greater effect on his younger body than it had on his older one. As he raced past, Teal'c scooped him up. However, the inevitable pause that occurred as Teal'c bent down proved his undoing, and another zat blast hit Teal'c in the back. Luckily very little of the blast traveled through Teal'c into Daniel, or Daniel's life might have ended at that moment. As it was, his breathing became very shallow.

As Teal'c dropped to the ground with Daniel, Jack's steps slowed. With a defeated slump of his shoulders, he looked at Sam.

"Carter," he said, softly, "go."

"Sir.." she protested, but he quickly forestalled her.

"Gate home," he said, "get backup."

A thousand protests ran through her mind, but she turned to go anyway. A useless gesture it turned out, because as she turned, several groups of Spartan boys came out of the darkness from the woods behind them, and SG-1 found themselves completely surrounded.

"Oiy," Jack said, and lifted his arms in the gesture of surrender.

One of the boys came forward and approached Jack. Carter watched him warily. He seemed surprisingly large, but he would only have been about twelve years old. However, she was absolutely stunned by the next words out of the boy's mouth.

"Aw, for crying out loud, Jack," the boy said in very heavily accented English, and then he began to babble at Jack in Greek. Sam understood a few words, but the majority of it was still less than intelligible to her. Now she understood how Jack felt every time she went off on 'techno-babble.'

"What were you thinking, you idiot?" Reiki asked, unable to keep the admiring smile off his face, "What made you think you had any chance of escaping from the Agoge? I don't understand why you'd want to leave anyway. Or why you'd want to leave your own kind to join with these unworthy helots."

At that Jack bristled, and Sam once again found herself shocked into silence as a babble of what sounded like Greek began to flow out of Jack's mouth like he had been born speaking it.

"They are far from 'unworthy,' Reiki," Jack said, as he stepped more protectively in front of his team, "they are my team, and I won't leave with out them. They _are_ my own kind."

Reiki shrugged. "Either way," he said, "it's time you went to the barracks. I imagine you're going to get in a lot of trouble for this."

Jack nodded, and then was surprised as Reiki came forward and grabbed his hand in a friendly gesture. "Look," the older boy said in a whisper, "you are a very interesting individual. You don't always make sense, but I am proud to call you friend. Feel free to join my herd any time."

Jack nodded, a somewhat pleased expression on his face and said, "Same to you, Reiki. Good luck and survive."

Reiki gave one more nod and then turned away to report to Antioch who was standing somewhat to the side.

Jack turned to see Carter standing with her mouth hanging open. "Carter?" he asked mildly.

"Sir?" she said, her voice filled with surprise, "Do you understand this language?"

"I don't know, Carter," he said, "it's all Greek to me." And with that, Jack was led away to the barracks leaving his team behind with one last regretful look.

Sam began to nod before she processed his statement, and then paused mid-nod and a confused expression crossed her face.

"What?"

* * *

Jack was surprised that no one seemed very upset by his botched escape attempt. If anything, most of the warriors were looking very pleased. The older boys peeled away from the group to return to their camp to sleep. However, once again, Jack found himself with a rope knotted around his neck with the other end in Antioch's hand. A sensation of coming full circle seemed to surround him as he was led like a dog to another unfamiliar place.

He crested a ridge only a little way from the Jaffa camp to see a large shadowy structure illuminated from the double moons in the sky above. As they drew closer, Jack could see someone waiting for them just in front of the entrance to the structure. It was Glitsa.

Glitsa was the only one that seemed furious. As Antioch led Jack up toward the man as he stood in front of the barracks, Glitsa's fist rose and he hammered Jack across the face.

"Ow," Jack said, rubbing his jaw.

"You little brat!" Glitsa spat, "Do you know the punishment I will endure thanks to your treachery?"

Jack shrugged, not really caring. For some reason this seemed to enrage Glitsa further, but as he raised his fist again, Antioch carefully stepped in between. "The boy will be punished, Glitsa, but do not blame him for your mistakes. He did not force you to be careless, that was your own decision. Take responsibility for your own actions and accept your punishment as a true Spartan warrior."

Glitsa backed off, the mere force of Antioch's presence more than the lesser man could handle, but his eyes continued to glare holes in Jack's back as he and Antioch walked passed the older man and entered the barracks.

The barracks was a large, almost amphitheater-type structure. Guards stood at the entrance, though Jack could tell they were usually more for the boys' protection than to keep the boys in. However, as Antioch brought Jack past them, he stopped and introduced Jack and told the guards to keep an eye out for any further escape attempts. The guards eyes seemed to memorize every inch of Jack as he was led past them, and he glared back as forcefully as he could manage.

The large building was dark, most of the boys were obviously already sleeping. Jack was led into a room with bunk-beds lining the walls. Antioch led him over to an empty bunk that had a chain attached to it.

"This is a bunk we don't normally use," Antioch whispered, "but you are not the first off-worlder to attempt to escape. Every night you will be chained here while you sleep until you learn to accept you situation. In the morning a warrior will come past and release you. Then you will be told your schedule. You will also be given your punishment in the morning."

Then to Jack's surprise, he felt Antioch's hand descend on his shoulder from behind in a friendly manner. "Get some sleep, Jack," the man said, "and good luck. I know you will continue to make us proud. It was a very impressive escape attempt, but since you got caught, you will be punished."

Then, Antioch pulled the chain off the floor and clasped it around Jack's neck. Jack remained silent. He was a little thrown off by Antioch's friendliness toward him. He heard the older man leave, and sighing, he climbed into his new bed. After a week of sleeping on the ground the bed seemed entirely too comfortable. However, in a few moments he was deeply asleep, knowing that the next day would be altogether none too pleasant.

* * *

Daniel and Sam were carried back to the Helots' village. Neither of the Spartan warriors who carried them said a word, and Daniel was still unconscious from the zat blast. Teal'c had been placed once again in his chains, and left at the Jaffa village. He and Sam had exchanged a long look right before Sam had been picked up and marched out of sight. They both knew this would not be the end of it.

Sam and Daniel were dropped off at their home without another word, and the Spartan warriors left quickly. Herodota stared at the floor until the warriors were out of sight and then she looked intently at Daniel.

"What happened?"

Sam understood that, but she didn't quite know how to intelligibly explain what had transpired. However, she decided to try anyway.

"Jack came...we...walked to Teal'c. Spartans came...caught we...brought back." Herodota smiled. The girl was improving. Herodota nodded in sympathy and placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said. Sam nodded.

At that moment, Daniel began to stir. He groaned softly and rubbed his hand across his face. He was happy to find that his glasses had not been lost in the confusion. "Jack?" he asked softly, confusion clear on his face.

Sam raced toward him, "I'm here Daniel. They took Jack away."

Daniel sighed and tried to sit up. Sam helped him. He looked at her after a moment, and pushed his glasses up on his face. "Was it my fault? Did we get caught because I got hit?"

Sam avoided looking at him and muttered, "We probably wouldn't have been able to get away anyway. After you went down, Teal'c took a hit as he tried to carry you off and then, of course, Jack wouldn't leave either of you. He ordered me to get away, but before I could the other search parties caught up with us."

Daniel groaned and leaned against the wall. Herodota came up with a glass and water, handing it to the discouraged archeologist. Gratefully, he took it from her and after drinking it, looked at Sam and apologized.

"I'm sorry, Sam. If I had been a little faster..."

"Don't worry about it, Daniel," she insisted. "We know Jack will never give up, and we'll make it next time."

He smiled slightly through his discouragement and nodded. "Yeah," he agreed.

"Meanwhile," Sam said, as she stood and helped Daniel to his feet, "we'll prepare to be faster next time."

Daniel nodded and then hobbled off to his bed. Sam looked at Herodota. "Thank you," she said. Herodota nodded and gently pushed her toward her bed.

"Sleep," she told Sam, and Sam did.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Jack was pulled from his sleep the next morning by the sensation that he was being watched. He quickly opened his eyes and scrambled into a defensive position as he crouched as high as he could on his bed with the chain around his neck. His bed was surrounded by small boys his 'age' and a few a little older. All of them stared at him with wide-eyes, suspicious expressions. One of the boys stepped forward. He had light brown eyes that caught the incoming rays of the sun and seemed to shine golden. He stood as straight as an arrow, and he had well-formed features. He looked to be about ten years old.

"I'm Leonidas," the boy said. "Who are you? Where'd you come from?"

Jack grinned. He could tell this kid thought he was pretty hot stuff. It was rather endearing. "Call me Jack," he said. "I came in last night."

The boy smirked. "I notice that you are wearing a chain like a skylos."

"Come closer," Jack said, "and I'll show you how well I can bite like a dog, too."

The boy started in surprise at the comment, and then a reluctant grin broke across his face as the other boys around him laughed.

"Well, then," the boy said, "I bid you welcome. I am the youngest son of Hypethilmas, one of the Kings of Sparta."

Jack nodded and came off the bed. "Nice to meetcha," Jack said, and then he looked around and asked, "So, what's going on this morning?"

Leonidas grinned and pointed out of the room, "We are to convene out in the courtyard for breakfast. Our curiosity has delayed us, however."

"So, uh, Leonidas," Jack said, "any chance you've got the key for this chain?"

The boy shook his head. "No. The guards will come and release you in a moment. What did you do anyway? Why are you chained up?"

Jack shrugged, "Oh, you know. Killed a few people, slaughtered a village, some little thing. Don't know why they're making a bid deal about it." As Jack finished his statement he looked around to find all of the little kids looking at him with large round eyes and amazed expressions on their faces. So, he quickly added, "I'm kidding. Obviously. I just tried to escape and they're making a bid deal about it."

"Why would you try to escape?" Leonidas asked, confusion written all over his face.

"Why wouldn't you?" Jack shot back. However, their conversation was interrupted as a guard came forward to unlock Jack's chain. Jack stood patiently as the clasp around his neck clicked open, and then he suddenly found himself free. "Well," Jack said, rubbing his hands together, "I'm hungry."

Leonidas nodded, "This way."

Jack followed the ten year old out and found a long table at which boys and girls were lined up with plates. "So how often do you get to eat, Leo?" Jack asked.

The boy looked at him and raised an eyebrow in a miniature version of Teal'c. "Leo?" he asked.

"Hey," Jack said defensively, "it's a cool nickname."

"Nickname?" Leonidas repeated, sounding out the English word. "What is that?"

"Oh, you know, a shorter version of your name."

"And what does this word 'cool' mean?"

"Neat, nifty, amazing, sweet, awesome...NICE!" Jack exclaimed as he saw the food that was laid out for them on the table. It was filled to the brim with actual fruit, vegetables, and a variety of meats.

Leonidas looked at him curious. "Did you not eat such food when you were at your home?"

Jack shook his head, "Oh sure. But after eating the blood-slime that they've been serving the older boys in the Agoge, I was expecting something much worse."

Leonidas grinned. "I have heard such stories of blood soup. My older brothers have loudly proclaimed their dislike of it."

Jack grinned, "Well, good. And here I thought I was the only one who was none to fond of it." However, as Jack reached for a plate, a heavy hand descended on his shoulder.

He looked up into the face of a scowling guard. "As part of your punishment for getting caught attempting to escape," the guard ground out in a deep gravely voice, "you are not allowed meals today."

Jack shrugged off the hand on his shoulder. "Fine," he drawled. "Anything else?"

The guard nodded. "You are also to receive twenty lashes before classes begin."

Leonidas looked at him with amazement. "Are you sure you really _didn't _slaughter a village? That's a pretty severe punishment."

Jack shook his head as the guard once more put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Yep. Ah well. Look, Leo, I'll get back to you later."

"Come," the guard said, and Jack waved at Leonidas as he was led away. Leonidas looked confused, but copied the gesture.

Jack was led into a small building off the east end of the compound. He entered to find an older man with graying hair sitting at a large, well-built desk.

"Ah, the much talked about Jack!" the man said. "Enter." The man gestured to an empty chair in front of him. "Sit."

Jack shook his head and folded his arms across his chest. "I'd prefer to stand."

The older man's eyes narrowed dangerously, but he said, "Very well."

The older man pushed himself to his feet and strode toward Jack. Jack held his ground and glared dangerously at the man. He could already tell this was going to be another individual that he was not going to be 'none to fond of.'

As the man spoke his first words, Jack instantly knew he had made the right call. "You may have made a fool out of Glitsa," the man said as he circled around the boy's form in front of him, "but know I am not the fool that he is. You try anything with me, and you will be severely punished for it. I will not make any allowances because the Ephors find you interesting. I expect instantaneous and willing obedience from you. Is that clear?"

Jack glared at the man in front of him. "And who exactly are you?" was all he answered.

The man strode right up to Jack and with a solid right knocked him right off his feet. "I'm the one man in this place you don't want to be on the bad side of," the man said. "Now I asked, is that clear?"

Jack pulled himself to his feet and wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth. "As clear as mud," he retorted, and for a moment, a bit of confusion filled the older man's eyes. He didn't seem like he knew what to make of Jack's answer, and that only seemed to irritate him more. However, he simply marched back to his desk and sat down in it. "Now," he said, "as to the matter of your punishment. You will be attending all the regular courses after you suffer twenty lashes in front of all your peers. You will be with the same group that you slept with last night, so I expect you to follow the other students' well-behaved examples. If I hear of any trouble from your end, know that there will be a consequence for it. Do you understand?"

"Sure," Jack said. The man studied him critically, then seemed to relax a bit.

"My name is Lyndicus," he said. "I am the overseer of this stage of the Agoge. All children report directly to me. You will start today's schedule with many of the simple exercises I've been told you have done previously. Following those you will be taught speaking and writing, as well as basic mathematics and science. After that will be lunch, which you will not be eating today. Instead of eating lunch, you will begin to learn basic swordmanship and spear skills. The other students will join you after they are done eating. Following several hours of that, you will meditate for an hour, and then will participate in more aerobics. As night falls, we shall learn dancing and singing. Any questions?"

A thousand retorts sprang to Jack's lips, but anxious to get his punishment over with, Jack squelched them with a great deal of self-control. He simply shook his head to the negative.

"Fine," Lyndicus said, "you are dismissed."

Jack nodded, and walked out. The guard that had walked him in, walked him out and brought him to a tall, man-high post. The guard turned and addressed the eating children. "For the crime of being caught trying to leave the Agoge, Jack O'Neill will be punished with twenty lashes. You must all watch and bear witness to the punishment."

The guard nodded to another, thick, heavy-set man who came out carrying a long stick. At the sight of the stick, Jack's eyes widened slightly. "Hey," he protested, "I thought you said 'lashes.'"

The guard shrugged. "They decided to use the rod today. Prepare yourself."

"Aw, for crying out loud," Jack said and turned toward the post, "let's get this over with." He knew from experience that if he fought the punishment, more 'lashes' would be added on. He figured he might as well take it and get it over with. It probably wouldn't be the last time, after all.

He reached his arms around the post and gripped it tightly. From his view he could see all the children watching him, and he struggled with his automatic reaction to resist and taunt the deliverer of his pain. As the first impact of the rod struck his back, he bit back a curse. In its own, different, _special_ way, the rod hurt much more than the whip. Where the whip bit, the rod impacted. The welts that still remained on his back from the previous weeks lashes were bruised by the feeling of the thick stick on his back. Clenching his teeth, he decided he wouldn't give the sycophants the pleasure of seeing him make a sound.

He quickly lost count of the number of times that the rod struck his back as he internalized his mind and used a tactic he had learned in Iraq to push the pain away. His body still felt the pain, but it was as though it came from a long distance away. It almost seemed to be someone else's pain. He began to analyze the escape attempt from the night before and try to figure out where it went wrong, so he could fix it the next time. He could only hope his team hadn't been moved, though he figured the Spartans were too overly-confident about their ability to stop him from escaping again that they wouldn't bother moving his team to somewhere else.

It was almost with a bit of surprise, that Jack noticed the rod was no longer hitting his back. He turned to look at the guard who had been 'punishing' him, to find the guard's face looked a bit surprised, and a little respectful.

"Are you done?" Jack asked, and he couldn't help it if his tone was a bit snide.

The guard nodded, and Jack turned. He took two steps before his legs gave out from underneath him, and he found himself with his face in the dirt. He heard the sound of running feet, and managed to roll over onto his back to look up and see the concerned face of Leonidas above him. The boy's face was blurry around the edges, and Jack realized with a bit of detachment that he was going into shock. His vision was tunneling, and sounds seemed to be coming from a great distance away.

"Help me up," he thought he heard himself say, but as Leonidas put his arm under Jack and helped him stand up, Jack could feel a great rushing sensation to his head, and the next instant, everything went dark.

* * *

Jack woke up a short time later to feel a great deal of pain coming from his back. He blearily opened his eyes to once again look up into the tawny eyes of Leonidas.

"Hey, Leo," he said. "What's going on?"

Leonidas's face broke out into a large grin. "Good morning, Jack!" the boy said, his exuberance filling his face. "That was pretty...cool."

At the sound of the English word, Jack couldn't help the small smile that crossed his face despite his pain. "What was cool?"

Leonidas sprang to his feet, and with easy grace of a trained athlete paced back and forth in front of the rug Jack was laying on. "The way you took your punishment. You never said a word or made a sound, it was as though you didn't even feel it. We were all very impressed."

"Thanks," Jack said, dryly as he slowly pushed himself up. Leonidas instantly sprang back to his side.

"I don't think you should be moving yet, Jack," Leonidas said, his expression concerned, "you took a pretty good beating."

"Probably not," Jack said, "but if I don't move, my back will stiffen up and I'll probably get punished again." Leonidas nodded, instantly understanding, and reached down a hand to help the smaller 'boy' up.

"So," Jack said, "are you in my group?"

Leonidas shook his head. "No. You have been placed in the group from our sleeping compartment with the other boys your age. I am in an older, more advanced group."

"That's too bad," Jack said. Leonidas nodded.

"I agree," the boy said. "However, I am fairly confident you will do well among your own age group."

Jack smirked at the irony of _that_ statement and followed Leonidas out of the room where he had been laid. The boys were finishing eating as they emerged, and Leonidas led Jack over to a corner of what could only be called the gymnasium. "This is where you will work on your exercises. I will talk to you later."

Jack waved at the boy as he left, and Leonidas waved back. "He's a good kid," Jack thought to himself and then turned to look at the other members of his group. They were all obviously newbies into the harsh world of the Agoge. Four other children stared back at him with wide, curious eyes and he sighed as he understood the torture they would have to endure to prove themselves. He decided right then and there, that if this was going to be his group until he managed to escape, he was going to do his best to protect them.

"Hey, guys," he said. The other boys looked at him as courageously as they could, but Jack could sense the fear under their steady gazes. All the boys have varying shades of brown hair at black hair at different lengths and everything from brown to blue eyes. Jack decided he might as well start the introductions. "I'm Jack," he said.

As most children did when they met Jack, they all seemed to instantly like him, except for a small black-haired boy in the back of the group. He merely glared at Jack and sneered as he asked, "Why do you think we care?"

The kid closest to him, a brown-haired boy with green eyes, looked at the black-haired boy and said, "Come on, Erypthos, he seems nice."

Erypthos snorted and deliberately turned his back on the boy who had just spoken. The blue-eyed boy shook his head in exasperation and turned to Jack. "Hi. I'm Strithyos."

Jack grinned, "Pleased to meetcha, Strithyos." The other two boys introduced themselves as well. A brown-haired brown-eyed boy who went by the name Tra'yint bowed low and then watched Jack with narrowed suspicious eyes. There was a sense that the boy was much older than he appeared, and Jack had a sudden suspicion about him. However, it went on the back-burner as the final boy introduced himself as Zeyenth. He had brown hair and bright blue eyes and he looked at Jack with a pleased, almost hero-worshiping expression.

They all wore the normal red cloth that was wrapped securely around their bodies, but they looked better fed than many of the boys in the later stage had looked. "There is another boy in our herd," Zeyenth said, "but he is not here yet. He should be here soon."

Jack nodded, but at that moment, he heard somewhat enthusiastically crying his name. He looked up to be hit by an affectionate explosion of a boy. "Jack!" the figure cried happily.

Jack looked down in surprise to see what had attacked him and found himself being hugged by a familiar form. "Tauraus?" he asked.

"Yes, Jack!" Tauraus responded.

"Let me guess," Jack said, looking at Zeyenth, "this is the last member of our herd."

Zeyenth nodded, grinning. Jack quickly extracted himself from Tauraus and said, "Nice to see you again."

"You too, Jack," Tauraus grinned. However, pleasantries were at that moment cut short. Jack's new 'father' was approaching, and it was time for the lessons to begin.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thank you to those who have reviewed and read this story. I regret to inform you that starting tomorrow I'll be leaving. (For more information, see my profile.) Until I return, I hope these updates will tide you over. Enjoy!

Chapter 12

Jack slowly moved through his forms, his balance perfect, his movements smooth. He could sense Zeyenth and Tra'yint were on either side of him matching him move for move. Three months had now passed since Jack had come to this Boy's Camp from Hades, and though he definitely wasn't enjoying every second of it, he had certainly adjusted. In absolute silence, he and the other boys in his herd flowed through their sword forms, their sharp blades held tightly in their hands. Other groups of boys around the courtyard were doing the same, as all practiced their swordsmanship. Next, they would pair off and practice against each other with real swords. If anything had been up to Jack, he would have at least given them wooden swords to practice with, but the Spartans didn't believe in saving themselves injuries.

Their 'father,' Atlantear, was a cruel taskmaster. Evidently, the powers-that-be that were running this place had decided Jack needed a firm hand to keep him in line, and they had sent the most stern humorless man on the face of the galaxy. As Jack liked to say, Apophis had more of a sense of humor than this guy. Jack had lost count of the number of times he had been punished in the last two months for speaking disrespectfully to the man. However, he had managed to avoid having the rest of his herd punished, by distracting the attention of their 'father' onto himself. It was a tactic he had used numerous times against the Goa'uld to spare his team discomfort, and he was pleased to find that it worked just as well against regular humans. Of course, his herd recognized what he was doing, and they had begun following his example of looking out for each other.

"Pair off!" Atlantear barked, swinging his knotted rope. The boys in Jack's herd did as asked. Jack found himself across from Erypthos like normal. The small, dark boy scowled at Jack and said, "This day will be the last day you draw breath, skylos!"

Jack rolled his eyes, "Aw, for cryin' out loud, you say that everyday. You think you'd come up with something original once in a while."

Erypthos had seemed to develop an instant dislike for Jack that had only increased as time went by. He'd become a teacher's pet to their oh-so-charming instructor, but none of the other members of their herd cared. Instead of the power and respect he obviously hungered for and felt he deserved, the other members of their herd had instead followed the natural lead of Jack. The jealousy Erypthos felt only seemed to increase every day as Jack took beatings that the other children should have gotten for daring to ignore Erypthos.

"Fine," Erypthos said, "then simply prepare to die!" Erypthos lunged with his short sword, and Jack instantly parried. For a few minutes, the dance seemed almost equal, both boys lunging and parrying their movements graceful and beautiful. Then Erypthos found himself on the defensive as Jack spun around, came up under Erypthos's guard, and placed his sword on the mean-spirited boy's throat.

Erypthos gulped nervously as Jack grinned and said, "Looks like I live another day."

Jack backed off and turned his back, walking toward the spears which were the next item on the agenda. Erypthos stood still, his anger burning inside of him as he stared at the back of his most hated rival, then he snapped and charged forward silently. By racing at the back of his foe, he broke many a Spartan code of honor, but he was too enraged to care. He bore down on the back of Jack, but Strithyos and Zeyenth happened to see him running toward him.

"Jack!" Strithyos yelled, and Jack turned just in time to see a sword slicing toward his face. Luckily his reflexes had been honed over the last three months and his body reacted incredibly fast, drawing his sword up and catching the falling sword just in time. The tip of it scratched down the middle of his left eyebrow, causing it to begin bleeding profusely but Jack ignored it as he stared into the eyes of Erypthos. The standoff continued for a long moment and then Atlantear interfered.

"What are you doing fighting after the practice match is over!" the older man roared, "Five lashes for Jack!"

Erypthos backed up smiling as Jack turned and spluttered indignantly, "What? Come on! How could you not have seen what happened there? I was the attacked, not the attacker!"

"It will be another two lashes for lying," Atlantear said with a sardonic smile.

Jack scowled angrily. Atlantear was beginning to really irritate him, and this was the last straw. "I'm not taking this punishment," he said, his mouth set firmly, his sword gripped tight in his hand.

The other boys stared at him in shock. Even Erypthos could only stand speechless. They had seen Jack be all levels of impudent, but this was the first time they had ever seen outright rebellion.

"What?" Atlantear said.

"You heard me, you sick sycophant. You do what you like, but I'm not taking this one lying down. You are one twisted little power monger, and I refuse to play your game anymore. Do what you like, but you just try to come near me."

Tauraus looked back and forth between Atlantear and Jack, and then stepped forward in an amazing show of courage and walked to Jack's side. Then he turned and glared at their mentor. "I agree," Tauraus said. "This is not a just punishment. I too will stand with Jack."

Zeyenth who was never far from Jack's side anyway, quickly walked up and stood on the other side of Jack. He simply nodded and crouched low, his sword bared.

Strithyos and Tra'yint nodded at each other, and took their places at Jack's side as well, then all five boys glared at Erypthos and Atlantear.

"Well," said a voice from the side, "this is what I like to see. Spartan youth standing together."

All of the boys turned an looked surprised at the new player and as one, all of them, except Jack, dropped to the ground in a kneel and saluted. Jack merely stood with his arms folded and his bleeding eyebrow raised.

"Hello, Jack," the new arrival said. "I take it you're still causing an uproar?"

"Spathatos," Jack greeted with a broad grin, "long time no see."

"Relatively speaking," Spathatos agreed, and Jack looked a bit confused at the statement. Spathatos then turned his attention to Atlantear and said, "So, what exactly is going on here with your herd, Atlantear? It looks like a full-scale mutiny."

"Sir," Atlantear said, a little thrown off by the apparent familiarity between the respected warrior and the irritating boy, "I have decreed a punishment and the boy insists he won't take it. His outright disobedience to a direct order is a most grave matter."

"Indeed it is," Spathatos agreed, "but perhaps there is a reason for his disobedience. I think maybe we'll allow him to voice his side of this charge. Well?" Spathatos asked, his gaze boring into Jack.

Jack stared at Spathatos. His instinct told him this guy was on the level, and so, he decided to spill it.

"Sir," he said, assuming military posture as any soldier would do while reporting, "I'm sorry, sir, but 'father' here is not following correct procedure. I'm all for just punishments, but this has gone too far. Erypthos and I were engaged in a sparring match, which I won fair and square. However, after I turned my back, Erypthos charged at me, attempting to attack me from behind. If it hadn't been for the rest of my team, I would be dead right now. However, after seeing this appalling display of disgraceful cowardice, our just and loyal 'father' assigned me five lashes while giving no punishment to the offending party. I'm fairly certain the correct procedure would be to punish the one who was actually guilty, is that not correct?"

Spathatos looked a little appalled as he stared at Atlantear. "Is this true, Atlantear?"

"Of course not," Atlantear said. "What actually happened, as far as I saw, is that the round had been completed, but instead of allowing it to end, Jack charged at Erypthos and attacked him without provocation. I think he was angry that Erypthos scratched his face and ruined his beauty."

At these words, the boys who were kneeling by Jack's side began to grow anxious. Finally, Tauraus could take it no longer. "That is a lie!" the boy yelled.

Spathatos turned his sudden surprised attention on the boy who had dared to speak. "And you are...?" Spathatos asked.

As he realized the famous warrior's attention was on him, Tauraus gulped, but forged ahead. "My name is Tauraus, my Lord," Tauraus said, bowing his head and avoiding the older warrior's eyes.

"Speak, Tauraus," Spathatos said.

"It's just like Jack said, my Lord," Tauraus said, looking shy at first, but slowly gaining courage, "Erypthos attacked him from behind. I don't know why Father allows his behavior, but this isn't the first time that Jack has been unjustly punished. Father has punished him over and over for small things, or for things that I or the other boys have done wrong, and Jacks' just taken it. But Erypthos was trying to kill him, for crying out loud!"

Spathatos looked deeply troubled. "This is not an easy decision. I am unclear who is telling the truth in this situation. If Erypthos did indeed attack Jack from behind, that is a most grievous assault. However, the disobedience of a direct order is also a most serious crime. Even if the order is unjust. In this circumstance though, the disobedience may be warranted. It is impossible for me to judge fairly. Therefore I will offer the two of you two choices. You may either let the matter stand trail before the Ephors...or you may battle it out with sword and spear. My only limitation is that the battle must not be a fight to the death. I will tell you when to cease if I feel death is eminent, but by then the victor should be clear. What do you choose?"

Jack considered Spathatos's words. It seemed that the man was being more than fair to him, and he still felt like he had judged him correctly the first time. He was obviously a man of honor to even give a supposed boy a chance to make his case. However, Jack didn't trust the rest of the Spartans as far as he could throw them. He'd rather trust himself in this situation. Therefore, the choice for him was easy.

"I choose trial by combat," Jack stated fearlessly.

Atlantear smirked. That suited him just fine. "I agree," he said.

Spathatos nodded. "The fight will begin at dusk. Until then, carry on as though nothing has occurred. And prepare yourselves." Jack nodded, turning to go back to his spear training, but stopped when he felt Spathatos's hand on his shoulder.

"Be careful," Spathatos whispered, "Atlantear has never been the most honorable amongst us. Watch your back." Then, he calmly lifted his hand and walked off. Jack watched the older man go, and then shrugged casually and hefted a spear.

However, as he began his spear-thrust exercises, he kept his eye on the older man's back and finally whispered a quiet, "Thanks."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Okay, I'll be quick because i know I've made you wait a long time. The next chapter to Jack the Spartan has been completed. It's been in my head a long time, but life, as you all know, is crazy. Thanks to my faithful reviewers and reminders. I hope you enjoy the latest installment.

* * *

Chapter 13

Spathatos left the barracks and, with a swift, effortless trot, headed deep into the nearby forest. Time had come for him to report, and if he didn't hurry, not only would he be late for his meeting, but he would also be late in returning to monitor the match between the young Jack and Atlantear. At the moment, he wasn't sure which one he looked forward to more.

Spathatos smiled as he thought of the young Jack. The boy was certainly turning into a promising Spartan. He had been the subject of several conversations since Spathatos had returned, and he knew that he needed to include the current situation in his report. As quiet as a panther, Antioch was suddenly at his side. They nodded to each other, and continued on soundlessly as more of the mightiest of the Spartan warriors joined them. At one point, they seemed to almost stumble in unison, but they quickly adjusted and continued.

They entered an enclosure a short time later, to find that HE was already there. The enclosure was circled with tall flat stones, and in the center was a throne, gilded with gold. The figure on the throne waved imperiously, and Spathatos, being the King's brother, and as acting representative of the council, motioned, and the 15 other men knelt in unison with him.

"My Lord, Heracles," Spathatos said, hand pressed against his chest in deference, "you summoned us?"

The figure seated on the throne smiled, and for an instant, his eyes seemed to flash dangerously. He was a tall, lanky man, who was beginning to show his age. His hair was almost entirely grey, and his eyes were a penetrating blue. He wore a white toga, which passed over his right shoulder, and his smile seemed friendly, but behind it, there lurked an oppressive darkness.

"It is time for the yearly accounting, Spathatos," Heracles said, with a smile hovering on his lips. "How are my troops?"

"My Lord," Spathatos said, nodding respectfully. "Over the past year, two hundred Spartan children have been born. One hundred and thirty-four were deemed free of defects. The other sixty-six were sent to the Helots and are being raised by them."

Heracles nodded, looking a bit concerned. "A two percent decrease. That is unfortunate."

"Yes, my Lord." Spathatos looked up slightly into the face of the man on the throne, "however, the inclusion process has merited some unlooked for profits."

"Go on," Heracles said, raising an eyebrow.

"Twenty six travelers have come through the Chappa'ai. Fourteen were Serpent Warriors. Four were of the race of the serpent. We quickly disposed of them. The fourteen Serpent Warriors were placed in the outskirt village. Of the remaining eight, four were deemed unworthy to become Spartans and were also placed with the Helots. The remaining four have experienced _Potizo Pithani Diarkeia Zois Akyrono_, and have been placed in the Agoge."

Heracles smiled happily. "That makes up for our two percent decrease. Well done, Spathatos."

Spathatos hesitated, and then added, "Almost, my Lord. Unfortunately, one of these four potential Spartans was unable to bear the Agoge, and has since passed on."

"Which still drops us half a percentage," Heracles mused. There was silence for a full minute, and then Heracles looked up. "You have still done well. Continue."

"Yes, my Lord.. Fifteen Spartans have died of unknown causes and one hundred and twenty from battle. We've lost eighteen youth in the Agoge."

"Which brings our numbers to?" Heracles asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Within the sphere we have three thousand and eleven Spartans, including men, women, and children. Outside the sphere, on planet we have another eleven thousand men, women, and children. Off planet...well, that I think you would know better than I, my Lord."

"Indeed," Heracles said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He sat for a moment, and then in a swift movement, he flowed to his feet. "The time is almost at hand, my children," he said, as he began to pace in front of the throne. "We almost have the forces necessary to destroy the race of the snakes, and take control of the galaxy! You!" he exclaimed, wheeling on the men in front of him, "You have all made me proud! Soon, not a single snake warrior will be left in this galaxy. You have all made sacrifices, but for every sacrifice I will award you eternally! Are you prepared, my children?"

As one, the fifteen men rose to their feet and bellowed to the sky, "Hail, Heracles!"

* * *

Daniel blinked sweat out of his eyes and stared at the sun above him. Muttering angrily to himself, he leaned down and plucked another weed. In the three months that they had been in this awful place, Daniel's small body had become leaner, and he now could work all day without being too exhausted at night. That is, unless it was extremely hot, then it didn't matter how much he worked, he was exhausted after the second hour. He looked over at Sam. She was covered in dust, and occasionally, she would rub her face on her clothes, and then continue working. At that moment, Daniel heard a strange sound, starting from the direction opposite of the sun.

"What's that noise?" Daniel asked.

Carter shrugged, looking discouraged. "Hmmm?" she asked, not really paying attention.

Daniel looked at her and felt very worried. Ever since the botched escape attempt three months ago, Sam had drawn more and more into herself. She seemed to be trying to escape from reality by losing herself in her thoughts. It was very frustrating for Daniel, who was already worried sick about what had happened to Jack when he had been caught.

"Listen, Sam!" he yelled, causing several other workers to glance up quickly, then just as quickly avert their gazes. For Sam, it seemed to wake her up from a deep sleep. Her eyes, which had been somewhat cloudy suddenly cleared, and she stared straight at him.

"What?" she said, a little too loudly.

"What's that noise, Sam?" Daniel asked.

Carter looked around and finally seemed to hear what Daniel was talking about. "It's like a...drone," she said.

Daniel nodded. It doesn't seem to be getting any louder, or closer. It just seemed to vibrate through the air. Daniel watched for a few minutes, but when nothing happened and the noise just kept going, he shrugged and went back to work.

* * *

Jack stretched and focused his mind. Atlantear wouldn't be like his previous opponents. Jack knew that even infuriated, he was a dangerous opponent. Jack wasn't even entirely sure he could win. He hadn't seen Atlantear fight before, and it was dangerous to fight an opponent who had info on you, but you didn't have any on him. Jack suddenly and fervently wished that he was back in the SGC. Heck, he even wished that he was in a Go'a'uld prison cell. At least there he always knew what to expect.

Angrily, Jack shook his head and relaxed. Only with his full wits about him would he win this match and he had to concentrate no matter what. His eyebrow, which had been sewn together and had stopped bleeding, stung as sweat ran down his forehead into the wound.

Jack groaned and looking up muttered, "This is turning out to be a bad day."

* * *

As the men finished cheering for Heracles, Spathatos began to fidget. Time was running out, and the meeting had already gone too long already. If he didn't leave soon, he was going to miss the match.

Heracles who had turned his eyes on his most loyal warriors could see that something was bothering his best warrior. "What is it, Spathatos?" he said, concern oozing through his words.

"My Lord," Spathatos said, saluting, "there is a match that I hoped to get back in time to see. It is an honor match between one of the new off-worlder boys and Atlantear. In outright rebellion, the boy refused to take a punishment from Atlantear, and challenged his 'father's' word. I gave him a chance to present his case before the Ephors or face his challenger, and he chose to fight." At this, Spathatos's expression became rueful, and he said, "I apologize for my restlessness, but the fight was to have occurred at dusk. I had hoped to be present for it."

"And so you shall be," grinned Heracles, "this sounds rather interesting. I would like to watch it myself. Lead the way, Spathatos."

The other warriors fell in behind. Spathatos felt honored. It wasn't often that their God came to view private squabbles. He glanced behind him toward Antioch. The man seemed a bit worried. Spathatos grinned. Of course he was. His honor was on the line today. He was the one who had recommended the off-worlder Jack O'Neill.

They stumbled once more as they approached the barracks. Spathatos looked upward. He grinned in relief. Though it was nearly dusk, there was still time to make it to the match.

* * *

Over the past few hours, the droning had gotten louder. It now was making Daniel's teeth rattle. Then, looking up in the sky, he gasped, "Look, Sam!"

Sam looked up, and her jaw dropped in shock. Nearly above their heads, frozen as though it was stuck in molasses was a U.A.V. It was creating a sound, but it was so low that it almost seemed to cause the air to rumble, and it was traveling far too slowly to sustain flight. Sam and Daniel watched it, but it was almost impossible to even see it moving.

"How is it even staying in the air?" asked Sam.

Daniel just shrugged. The rest of the Helots had stopped paying attention to their work too. Everyone was watching the small metal plane as it floated high above their heads. As Daniel turned to look at Sam and the others, the reflection of the sun off of his glasses seemed to flash for just a moment off the side of the UAV.

"Wait, Sam," Daniel said, an idea hitting him. "Does it look like it's working to you?"

Sam nodded, and said, "Aside from the fact that it is defying physics at the moment, it appears to be functioning properly."

"Good," Daniel said. He took off his glasses and handed them to the soldier. "Signal them. Send them a message."

Holding the glasses, it took Sam only a moment, and then she understood. Hope brightened her face and she quickly began moving the glasses back and forth. It wasn't over yet.

* * *

Jack looked around him. Spathatos wasn't there yet. Jack sighed in regret, and then he turned toward Atlantear. The other man looked smug, and Jack couldn't wait to wipe the grin off of his face. He had only hoped that Spathatos would be here to see it. He stood poised for action, resting his weight on the balls of his feet, and watched Atlantear, who was at the other end of the ring. All the boys and teachers had turned out to watch this fight, since it had been decreed by Spathatos himself, though none of them were expecting much.

"What's the matter?" Atlantear taunted quietly, "Is your mama not here?" As Jack glared at him, Atlantear continued with a grin, "Well don't you worry, little one, there's no one here to stop me from accidently ridding our kind of a slight imperfection."

Jack's eyes widened slightly as he realized that Atlantear meant to kill him.

"What imperfection is that?" a deep voice said, and the crowd spun to see Spathatos leading a party of men who for once cause Jack to be silent.

Fourteen men walked forward, each one sculpted like a Michelangelo statue, and each one with a warrior spirit that would have made Teal'c lay down and cry. Any man who can make wearing a red skirt look manly deserved praise in Jack's book. They all wore red capes as well, and carried shields and spears. They were led by Spathatos and a man that made all of Jack's hair stand on end. It wasn't that he looked different, though he too was immensely muscular and strong; but it was the aura that he gave off that made Jack instantly distrustful.

Jack turned to look at Atlantear, who had frozen, his face in a petrified state of shock as he stared at the newcomers.

"M-m-m-muh-my, Lord," Atlantear sputtered, and dropped to one knee before the figure next to Spathatos.

Around them, the rest of the crowd did likewise, until Jack was the only left standing. With hands on his narrow hips, he stared at the man who seemed to instill such fear into Atlantear and sized him up. He was dangerous, alright. Then, Jack caught Spathatos's eye, and realized that Spathatos was telling him something. Jack gazed at him questioningly, and then finally, as Spathatos raised one hand and gestured with it, Jack realized that the older man was telling him to kneel.

"Ah, right," Jack muttered, and slowly dropped to one knee. There must be a good reason Spathatos had warned him, and for once, Jack would listen to the warning. There had been real fear in Spathatos's eyes for him, and Jack was usually not a complete fool. Self-preservation occasionally steps in, and right now it was screaming at him to not tick off this new fella.

"Well?" the new one asked, talking to Atlantear, and ignoring Jack's impudence for now.

"My Lord, obviously it was the imperfection of my own pride," squeaked Atlantear, and at the sound, Jack couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.

"Excellent," the man said, and then added, "then let us begin. I expect good things from this fight." And at these words his eyes settled on the small child in front of him, and for a moment Jack felt himself freeze as though he had been doused in cold water. Then, as the eyes moved away, he shuddered, and forced himself to relax. He couldn't let himself be distracted or he was toast.

Jack turned and faced Atlantear, who seemed shaken. Jack couldn't help but wonder who this man was. "Well," Jack said after a moment, "are you just gonna stand there and cower or are we gonna fight?"

Atlantear's focus snapped back and he began to move toward Jack. They circled each other, and Jack could tell that the other was being cautious. Too cautious. Jack could sense the fear in the other's eyes, and he knew it wasn't because of Jack. Jack could see that the man was suddenly afraid of looking bad, and Jack realized it was his chance. Though Atlantear was watching him, he was a bit distracted, and Jack moved.

Crouching, he raced forward. Atlantear's eyes showed surprise for an instant, and then he crouched as well, ready to meet the other. However, before met, Jack tucked into a ball, rolled onto his back and shot his legs straight into the other's jaw. Atlantear's teeth clicked shut with a snap, and he was thrown off his feet. Both instantly were back on their feet, and circling, and then they collided. Fists and feet flew, and they were a whirling, blinding tornado of movement. Occasionally a thud would be heard as some appendage would make contact. A grunt would sound out, but mostly they fought in silence. It was a beautiful fight, for all of the difference in size.

Jack knew instantly that he was in trouble. He had packed a lot of wallop into the kick, but it hadn't even phased the older man. Instead, it had focused him, making him twice as dangerous. Jack was just a little bit faster, but he was lacking on power and reach. He knew if the other got his hands on him, it was over. He docked another fierce kick and spun around to punch Atlantear in the kidneys. Atlantear blocked his kick and without pausing smashed the heel of his hand into Jack's cheek. Jack stumbled backward, still trying to block Atlantear's blows.

The man just would not let up. Jack felt his calm slip a little bit, and he growled, "So much for not fighting dirty!" Grabbing Atlantear's arm and it came toward him, he pulled Atlantear toward him and used the bigger man's weight to throw him forward. As the man flew over his head, he nailed him...somewhere no man should ever be hit.

Atlantear gasped, and with a bellow lurched to his feet. The blows intensified.

"Geez," Jack gasped, from a particularly hard hit as he continued to fend off the older man, "Don't you ever go down?"

Atlantear growled and snarled, "You go down first. I will not be beaten by a _syntrophos_! I am a Spartan of the purest lineage. In my blood runs the ancestry of Heracles himself. You are nothing!"

"Well, if that's how you feel about it," Jack said, "maybe it's time we spilled a little of that noble blood." Ducking into the other's reach, he turned and backhanded Atlantear across the face. He had hit the man hard enough that a gash had opened and his face began to bleed.

"That's it!" roared Atlantear, "You are dead!" He charged at Jack with an intensity that Jack was unprepared for and before he knew it, Jack was pinned on the ground on his back, with Atlantear lying on top of him, holding him down.

Jack gulped. This did not look good for the home team.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Jack was pinned. There was no way around that. He lay still for a moment, trying to figure out a way out of this 'heavy' situation. And boy was it! The guy had to weigh like 300 pounds of solid muscle. Altantear seemed surprised for a moment, and then he grinned triumphantly. His look clearly told Jack that Atlantear knew Jack was finished.

However, even though Atlantear knew that, and Jack should have known that, the stubborn part of Jack surged forward and began looking for a way out. It was the same part of Jack that had never given up in the other thousands of hopeless situations they had been in, and it hadn't failed Jack yet.

Jack looked up into the eyes of the man above. Then, he smirked and smashed his head forward as hard as he could. Atlantear grunted sharply as his nose began to spray blood all over Jack, and reflexively, he brought his arms up to his ruined face. In doing so, he relaxed his grip on Jack. Jack immediately wiggled free and was back on his feet facing his foe, fists balled as he prepared himself for the next attack.

He didn't have to wait long. Even though his nose was gushing blood, Atlantear surged to his feet and toward the much smaller man, and it was all Jack could do to get out of his way and stay out of his reach. Jack did manage to kick the other man's back as he went past. Atlantear didn't even hesitate to jump around and rush at Jack again. Jack, having now caught the other man's speed, easily sidestepped this time, and as Atlantear again ran by, Jack aimed another solid kick at his hindquarters.

However, this time, Atlantear was ready, and as Jack's right leg came up, Atlantear turned with inhuman speed and caught his foot midair.

"Lesson one," snarled Atlantear in triumph, his face a bloody mask, "don't ever do the same trick twice on a seasoned opponent. Only a fool falls more than once into the same ditch." With that, the other man twisted Jack's leg sharply and with a scream of agony, Jack felt his leg snap. He writhed on the ground for a moment, clutching his leg, gasping. Blood roared in his ears, but beyond that, he thought he heard someone laughing.

Forcing his eyes open, he looked up to see Atlantear laughing, his head thrown back. A rush of anger hit Jack and, forcing himself up on his good leg, he swung and hit Atlantear as hard as he could in the jaw.

Atlantear abruptly stopped laughing as his head shot back from the force of the blow, and he was rocked off his feet into the dirt. Cursing in Greek, he shook his head and unsteadily climbed back to his feet. Jack stood ready for him, his weight fully upon his left leg. Drunkenly, Atlantear careened toward him.

Jack could see murder in Atlantear's eyes, and just as he was about to prepare himself fo r a whole bunch of pain, a voice rang out.

"STOP!"

Atlantear froze where he stood, still swaying a bit. Jack's punch seemed to have addled his brain a bit. Jack, balanced precariously on his leg, could feel unconsciousness looming, but he did his best to force back the pain-free darkness.

Spathatos strode in between them. "Stand down, Atlantear," he said, "I have determined that this fight is over."

"But," Jack protested vision fuzzy with pain, "I was about to..."

"And you, Jack," Spathatos interrupted his weak protests, "feel free to fall down. You're going to do it soon anyway."

Jack didn't intend to obey Spathatos. He just couldn't help it. His mind was still thinking up a clever retort, when, suddenly, his body was involuntarily relaxing. Everything turned to darkness, and Jack didn't even remember hitting the ground.

* * *

Sam was still signaling when someone fired a staff blast. The blast flew toward the UAV, but just before it reached it, it began to slow down. Soon, Sam and Daniel could only watch in horror as the blast slowly began to travel at the same rate as the UAV. However, from the direction, they could see it was inevitable that the blast was going to hit the machine.

"Get back to work!" A harsh voice snapped at them in Greek. They turned to see a large Spartan waving his staff in their direction, and obediently, they began to work again.

"Sam?" Daniel asked, "What is going on here? Why is that UAV going so slow?"

Sam was silent for a moment, but when she lifted her head Daniel was gratified to see a fire in her eyes that he hadn't seen for a long time. "I don't know," she said, with a small smile on her lips and steely determination in her voice, "but I will figure it out."

It took another half hour, but the blast finally struck the UAV. The slow motion show of the machine turning into a fireball was enough to take their breath away. It was hard to keep working, but now that Sam's mind was busy, her hands worked on autopilot, and time seemed to fly. At that thought, her hands froze in their work, and her head came up with a snap. And suddenly the world began to make sense.

"Daniel!"

* * *

"It's gone, sir."

Hammond sighed. Sg-1 was supposed to contact them twelve hours after they landed on P2R-987. It had seemed uninhabited, but when it came to SG-1, unexpected things always happened. Just a few minutes after SG-1 had left, the gate had reopened. SG-1's signal had briefly come through, but instead of following after their code, the gate had simply shut down. Worried, Hammond had tried to reestablish contact with the team, but no response had followed.

It had taken them an hour to prep a MALP and send it through. They had combed the surrounding landscape and sent the MALP as far away as they could, but they hadn't found any sign of their missing team. They had searched for nearly three hours, but finally had to recall the MALP. There had been some signs of a struggle around the gate, and some blood was found. Lab analysis had identified it as Jack's. Hammond sighed at that thought. Of course Jack was bleeding. The man always seemed to have the unfortunate ability to get hurt. He and Daniel were walking disasters, though at times it seemed that all of SG-1 was accident prone. Jack, however, was loyal to a fault, and if it appeared that danger threatened his team, he would draw attention to himself, which usually led to some "big bad" pounding on him.

Afraid that his was a sign that SG-1 had been captured, they had spent the next few hours contacting their allies asking them if there had been any word of SG-1's capture. All responses came back negative. So, nine and a half hours since SG-1 had gone through the gate, they had decided to send a UAV to investigate.

What they saw had caused more confusion than it had solved. The gate had opened and the UAV had flown in like normal. It also had read no life signs, and they had sent it straight from the gate to see if it could find any signs of the missing team.

The landscape had been normal, fairly barren when they had suddenly seen a man below them. He shot at them with a staff weapon, barely missing the UAV. As it passed him, he took off in pursuit. They had flown over a line of what could have been a fence, and then things got really weird. The landscape below them suddenly shifted and began to blur. They couldn't figure out what was going on below them.

"Is something wrong with the camera?" Hammond asked, as they continued to fly forward.

"No, sir," the technician had said, "everything appears normal. It's almost as if we're seeing things in . . . fast forward."

Hammond watched intently. It was like a fast forwarded video. Small shapes moved across fields faster than the eye could follow. The camera was blinded for an instant by something glinting below them, and the next moment, as the camera cleared, they saw the staff blast just as it hit them.

And now the UAV was gone and the mystery was more confusing than ever.

"Get that film to analyses, now!" Shouted Hammond. There had to be a clue in the few minutes they had been recording, and hopefully that would explain what exactly was going on here.

* * *

"His name is Jack?" Heracles asked as they stared down at the fallen boy's frame. Atlantear had stalked off to tend to his own wounds after it had been announced that Spathatos's decision would be announced when the boy was awake again. However, the boy's leg was severe enough that it needed to be fixed immediately. Luckily, in the thousands of years that they had been here, medicine had advanced far, and they had stolen some of their former masters' technology.

Spathatos nodded. He smiled as he watched Antioch hover around the bed as the doctors were tending to the child. "Yes, Anthioch is the one who found him initially. He petitioned with the council to allow the boy to join the Agoge. The council agreed. They were all very impressed with the boy."

"As am I," muttered Heracles. Then, he turned to Spathatos and asked, "Tell me, did he identify himself as anything other than simply Jack?"

"Yes, sir," Spathatos said, "According to Antioch, the way he introduced himself initially was 'Colonel Jack O'Neill, US Air Force.'" Spathatos said the English words with a very strong accent, obviously mimicking Antioch's own mimicry of Jack's words.

At that name however, Heracles began to laugh. Spathatos stared in amazement. He didn't think he'd ever heard their Master laugh before. Eventually, Heracles stopped, and lowering his head, he said, "Do you even realize whom you've captured? The Goa'uld hate this man, and have been trying for months to capture him. Without even trying, we've turned one of the most dangerous men in the galaxy into a small child. And better yet, by the time we're done with him, he'll be working for me."

Heracles had a strange glint in his eye when he said that, and Spathatos couldn't help the dread that crept into his gut at the other's words.

"Tell me," Heracles continued, "when he was captured were there others with him?"

* * *

Jack woke slowly back to consciousness. His whole body throbbed with pain, and he could hear voices all around him. However, the pain was slowly receding, and as he opened his eyes, he saw a man he didn't know pointing a Goa'uld-like device at his injured leg. Yelping, he scrambled away.

"Calm down, Jack," a deep voice said, "they aren't going to hurt you."

Jack relaxed as he recognized the voice of Spathatos. He allowed the man to continue working on his leg.

"So, did I win?" Jack asked, wincing as a particular sharp pain lanced through his leg. It was easing, but slowly.

Spathatos laughed. "It was a good battle, Jack, but it has been determined that Atlantear had the advantage and would most likely have killed you."

"Aw, for crying out loud," Jack said, "I was ten times the fighter that guy was! And of course he had the advantage. He's two or three feet taller!"

"Thus," Spathatos continued, with only a small smile to show that he'd heard Jack's protests, "you are to receive the punishment that he designated for you."

As Jack opened his mouth to protest again, Spathatos held up one finger and said, "However, because he seems to hold an inordinate dislike for you, he is also being replaced. You will have a new 'father' by the end of the week."

At this news, Jack smiled and relaxed. Maybe he would still have to take the punishment, but that jerk was out of their lives for good. "Sweet," he said, and then exhaustion took over and unconsciousness took him again.

* * *

It took almost twenty-four hours, but the lab finally finished their analysis. If Hammond had any hair left, he might have been ripping it out, but as it was, he was left with simply wearing a hole in the floor. He couldn't shake the sense that something was horribly wrong. The lab technician that had been sent to tell him the news was excited, and rambling a bit. Hammond was having a hard time paying attention. He had been on the phone with the President, and he had forbidden Hammond from sending anymore aid until they knew exactly what was going on.

"Sir," the lab technician said, as Hammond quickly followed him back to the lab, "this is truly incredible! We've never seen anything like this!"

"Then, quickly explain to me what is going on, and what has happened to SG-1!" Hammond barked at him.

"Yes, sir," the technician cowered, then brightened and added, "but it really is a lot easier to just show you."

They reached the lab and pulled up a chair in front of five computer monitors. The technician pointed to the first screen on their left.

"This, sir, is the original image. As you can see, it appears to be moving at a fast-forwarded rate."

"I've already seen this image," Hammond said, "please quickly continue with your explanation."

"Sir, yes, but it is really important. Please be patient, this is going to take a moment."

Hammond tried to settle his nerves, but he couldn't help feeling that every moment was costing them dearly.

"We had to slow it down. We slowed it down by a factor of ten, and it still was going this fast," the technician pointed to the next screen where things were still moving fast, but were almost distinguishable as actual objects. Hammond could now see that the fast-moving figures were people working in a field.

"We slowed it down by another factor of ten, and we were able to view most of the objects, though they are still slightly speedy. We continued to reduce the speed by incremental degrees until finally, we achieved this image," as the technician had been talking he showed Hammond the different speeds until they finally stopped at a video that seemed to be at 'normal speed.'

"What is the significance of this?" Hammond said, frustrated with his own understanding.

"Our best guess, sir, is that only a little way from the gate, someone has set up a time-dilation device with only a small sphere of effect. Within that sphere, time has been increased to 120x greater than our own Earth time."

"What does that mean?" Hammond said, "Give me some thing to reference that to."

"Well, sir," the technician said, "for example, for every thirty seconds that pass here, an hour has occurred within the field. For every six minutes, a day has occurred there. For every 36.5 hours, a year has occurred within the field. Since SG-1 first went to this planet, it has been more than 33 and a half hours. From their perspective, it has been almost a year."

"Oh my . . . " Hammond said, his eyes turned worried, "They must think that we've forgotten all about them."

"No, sir," the technician said, "we discovered something else. As the UAV was flying over head, we began to see flashes of light. At first, we dismissed it, thinking it was just the sun glinting off of an object below. However, the flashes continued, and we began to see a pattern." At this, the technician began to be excited again. Hammond felt his own hope rising. "It was SG-1, sir," the technician said beaming.

"What did they say?" demanded Hammond.

"Well," the technician said, "that's where it began to get really weird."

"And a time-dilation field that is 120x faster than regular time isn't?" Hammond asked, with a slight smirk on his face.

Recognizing the irony of his own statement, the technician grinned, and then said, "The signal came from a small child," he said pointing at the screen. "This child to be exact."

Hammond squinted at the small image that was magnified on the screen. It appeared to be a small blond girl with hair down past her chin.

"So?" Hammond said, "how did this girl learn morse code? Does she know where Major Carter is?"

"Actuality, sir," the technician said, "she said she IS Major Carter."

Hammond just stared at him for a long time. In fact, it was probably at least an hour's length of time from where SG-1 was standing.


End file.
